


Attorney's at War

by Melhrain



Category: Undertale (Video Game), Undertale AU- Fellswap
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fellswap, Attorneys, But I'm still writing it anyways, Enemy to Friends, F/M, Female Reader, I get them confused, I have very limited knowledge and it's gonna show, I'm so sorry, Lawyers, Multi, Named Reader, Post-Barrier Breaks (Undertale), Who tf knows, but probably tbh, by that I mean it's a child who is tiny, future smut?, i think, law bullshit, mostly because it's easier to write for me, small original character, to probably more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23979346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melhrain/pseuds/Melhrain
Summary: Monsters are doing their best to adjust to life on the surface, but harassment and hatred aren't easy to overcome. But even if the world they came from was Kill or be Killed, the Monsters really don't want to continue that path. So instead, they try to handle it the way humans do.In court.
Relationships: Papyrus (Undertale)/Original Female Character(s), Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Papyrus/Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Original Character(s), Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 126
Kudos: 167





	1. Meet Cu-well, never mind

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been helping my partner work on some different fics while writing Science Meets Life when I got an idea for a fic that proceeded to haunt me until I wrote it. I meant for it to be a drabble fic for me to play with occasionally when I needed a break from SML. 
> 
> Four days later I had 8000 words written for it. 
> 
> Whoops. 
> 
> Disclaimer: My knowledge of court cases comes from legal shows and my foster brother who is studying to be a lawyer. Needless to say, please don't expect accuracy, I am trying my best.

It was day three of the case being presented to the Judge and Jury, and Sans was about to lose his mind. 

He had heard rumors of lawyers that were defending all the human bigots that created problems for Monsters. It was a group of four, four humans dedicated to keeping racist scum on the streets while demeaning Monsters the entire time. This was the first case Sans had gone against one of them (it was one of his first cases in actuality, having just finished binging six years of human law school into his skull in the two years they had been on the surface), and Dear Stars in the Heavens, he hated them. 

It wasn't even that they were defending such obvious slime, or that they were legitimately good at it. It was the bright, clear, beautiful yellow-gold of a soul the human attorney had. No LV, no EXP, no shadows of muck to prove the disgusting core that should be responsible for keeping those humans out of jail. Instead, it was a core of absolute Justice, bright enough to blind him at first when he saw it, and confusing as hell. 

How, how, how was someone with such pure Justice as a soul, capable of defending such garbage like the one they were sitting beside right now? A disgusting human male that enjoyed taking verbal shots at Monsters walking by, until the day a Monster snapped back and a verbal shot turned into a physical one. 

Despite being rough around the edges, Monsters were still a delicate species. It was luck that the human only grazed the Monster with his attack, turning what would surely have been a Dusted Monster into a critically injured, but still alive one. Sans had been asked by the Queen to defend the injured Monster as they pushed to file charges against the human for assault and attempted murder. It was his first major case, and he was losing. 

"No reliable witnesses" and "their word against his" and other bullshit excuses were being thrown, including "accident" and "no real intention to harm". And Sans could see it. The Jury was falling for it. 

In the end, the human got off with a fee and a one-year restraining order against him for the Monster, which was unacceptable. Sans could feel his teeth grinding as he watched the human attorney receive congratulations for "winning" the case by other humans. Blue eyelights shrank and focused on the genial smile on the humans face, something...plastic about it. 

"Mutt." The word was spoken quietly from his place in the courtroom, making a show of packing his case and ushering the furious and scared Monster he had failed. "Hunt." 

His pocket buzzed with a text message that he checked as he exited the courtroom. 

_From Mongrel:_

**'Yes, M'lord.'**

***

For the love of the Gods and Cheesecake, Rem could not wait for this farce of a trial to be over. It didn't matter that it was her trial or that she was currently presenting her closing statement. It wasn't the fact that she was losing (which she wasn't). It was the tension of knowing those bastards were in the crowd watching her. They were making sure she "did them proud" and didn't fuck up this case. 

As she sat down and listened to the Judge excuse the Jury to leave, she felt the man next to her lean in closer. 

"Thanks, sugar. I appreciate your help." The heavy breathing in her ear, she could do without. In fact, this entire situation, she could do without. 

Four years ago, Rem was a fresh-faced 24 year old fresh out of law school with a pile of recommendations from impressed professors, starting work at one of the best law firms in the state where she quickly shot through the ranks and became one of the best defense attorneys the firm had seen. 

Two years ago, Monsters walked out of the mountain, and humanity lost its shit. True, they were scary looking and intimidating- for all of two minutes. Then she saw the adorable kid cuddled up to a fluffy goat and suddenly all Rem could see was survivors escaping hell with the help of a precious seven-year-old.

Rem was ready to start helping them, researching anything and everything she could think of that could help a new species settle into life on the surface. 

Then she went to work the next day and was promptly informed that the firm would be taking a particular interest in making sure Human life continued on as usual in these "trying times." 

In other words, Humans First, and Only. 

In the beginning, she had tried to push back and had quickly been shot down. Now, two years later, and she felt like a rat in a cage. The company couldn't let her go because she was one of their most talented rats, but they were ready to slip her poison at any moment if she tried to "betray" them. And with what happened just a little more than a year ago, she couldn't afford to risk any slip-ups. 

So, here she was. Sitting by Creeper 101, having just delivered a mechanical but thorough closing that put nails in the coffin of the prosecuting attorney's case. Normally she'd feel at least content in knowing she kicked ass, but right now, she just felt like she needed a shower. 

She could feel the glare from the Monster attorney and had to bite back the urge to look at him. She knew if she did she would break and apologize for every honey-flavored lie that just slipped past her lips. But **_they_** were watching, and she couldn't afford to mess up. 

The Jury returned. The verdict was read. Rem won. 

As the three other "Primary Defenders of Humanity" congratulated her with barbed comments, she couldn't help but glance at the retreating back of the limping bunny Monster and the Skeleton leading the poor thing out. 

She wanted to cry. But she couldn't afford that either. So instead, she smiled and thanked the coworkers she had once been proud of. And inside, she hurt a little more than before. 

***

Papyrus waited- and watched. 

He watched the celebratory dinner the bastards went to with that human that just beat his bro. He waited as they laughed and drank, and watched as the one female did little more than fake sips of her wine and smile statically. He watched her only speak when spoken to, watched her be insulted by every man at that table, and took it all with that genial- plastic- smile. He examined every soul at that table, not able to see as much as Sans, but able to see enough to know that if any of those men had made it to the judgment hall, none would have lived. 

Except for her. 

And wasn't that interesting. 

He watched them leave the restaurant, none of them leaving tips or apologies for the giant mess they left the table in- except her. She stayed and helped clean up the awful mess, leaving them what must have been a sizable tip judging by the gratitude on the servers’ faces. He waited as she left the restaurant, and where every male had had a fancy car to climb into, she walked to the nearest subway station. He watched her give money to not one, but three homeless people, all who knew her by name and who she spoke to kindly. 

He followed her when she switched train lines and followed her as she walked into a modest neighborhood with simple if slightly rundown houses. He watched her pause before putting her keys in the door, taking a deep breath and putting a smile on her face again, if more believable then the previous ones that night. And then he watched as instead of unlocking the door herself, she knocked out a rhythm and waited. 

And he watched as the door flew open and that smile turned real as the tiny body that flew at her, nearly tackling her to the ground, was followed by a squeal of laughter and a cried out "Aunty, you're home!" 

He watched as the door closed behind them, and waited as lights turned on and then turned off an hour later. And an hour after that, after he did a quick prowl around the property and could find nothing besides a small garden and a pile of toys in the backyard, he returned home to report


	2. The Report and Stalker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay, I actually didn't expect to have that many kudos and a comment that quickly. Thank you guys so much! And as I'm about to undergo surgery in two hours, I figured I'd drop in and post chapter two while I'm not high on anesthesia and pain stuff. 
> 
> Thanks again!
> 
> \-----

**Chapter 2**

Papyrus’ shortcut took him into the living room of the nice apartment he shared with his bro, immediately locking on to the figure of his brother sitting in his chair with a glass of wine in hand. 

It was so overdramatic. His brother was so cool. 

"Mutt, report." 

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Papyrus wished he had a dog treat to smoke. "Conflicting information, M'lord." The statement had Sans blue eyelights focus on him intently. "The human female went to dinner with the other attorneys and stayed polite, but seemed unhappy beneath the mask she wore. When the dinner was over, I continued to watch as she not only assisted the servers in cleaning up the mess but tipped them enough to make up for the other assholes not doing anything." Already Sans looked thoughtful. "Afterward I followed her to the subway where she got on the eastbound train, but not before giving money to three homeless humans that she not only knew the names of but knew their lives and hobbies. She was on the train for 45 minutes, making one transfer, before walking ten minutes to a house in a decent, probably low-income neighborhood. There she..." Papyrus trailed off, remembering the exhaustion that had been on her face, her attempt to hide it behind a smile, and the genuine joy that he had seen on both girl and woman. 

Sans' sockets narrowed. "She what?" He demanded, beginning to assume the worst. 

"She knocked a pattern on the door and a little girl answered it." Papyrus hesitated.  "She called her Aunty." 

Silence reigned as Sans contemplated. "Conclusion?" He finally asked.

Papyrus felt his shoulders slump even more. "If we checked her secondary trait, I'm almost positive it would be Kindness. She seems to be a genuinely good person- and she hates those other lawyers she was with." 

Sans hummed as he thought this over. "And yet she defends and works with them. Any evidence of her being coerced?" 

"Uncertain." 

Humming again, Sans took a sip of his wine. "It's obvious she is skilled at her job and highly intelligent. It would make sense for the humans to find a way to keep her on their side." 

"Perhaps the little girl?" Papyrus suggested. "Using family, it's what we would have done in the Underground." Making a face, he continued. "At least, family out of stripes."

Nodding slowly, Sans considered the angles. "A good possibility. About what age did the child seem?" 

Thinking on it, Papyrus compared them to Chara. Smaller didn't always mean younger, but there had been something in the voice that reminded him of...

"I'd place her at the age of or around Chara when they first arrived in the Underground." 

Sans arched a brow. "Quite young then. Too young to be left on her own like that. Any evidence of a partner or companion?" 

"None." 

"Hmmm."

Silence pervaded the room for a few moments before Sans shifted and took another sip of wine. "Good work, Mutt. Go rest for now, and eat something." 

Chuckling, Mutt slouched out of the room, waving a hand at the shouted "I mean it, Papyrus! EAT!" 

His brother was so cool. 

***

Today was Rem's day off, and she was so fucking tired. Yesterday had been a long day of putting together all of her notes and reports for the case to turn in, another day spent saying nothing to coworkers she once joked with and now couldn't stand to do more than nod at. But today was her day off, and she was not moving from this bed. 

A quiet giggle, quickly muffled. 

The grin was involuntary as she remained relaxed, faking sleep as she listened to small footsteps creep closer. Rem counted to three, listening to the giggle that escaped the intruder. 

On three, Rem flipped over, throwing her blanket over the tiny intruder, smiling wide at the delighted squeal. 

"Auntyyyy! How'd you know?" was giggled out as the girl struggled to escape the blanket. Laughing, Rem helped pull up on the side so she could see the little girl hiding away. 

"I'm just that good, Sinbad. You'll never catch me unaware!" 

Another round of giggles was accompanied by Sin throwing herself at Rem's chest. Catching the girl, Rem cuddled her close, dark, crazy curls attacking her face. 

Rem supposed, as little arms wrapped around her neck, she could be persuaded to leave her bed. 

***

  
  


"Aunty! Let's gooooo, you promised!" 

Sighing dramatically, Rem slowly pulled on her favorite trenchcoat, trying not to laugh at the impatient whining coming from Sin. It was her day off and it was Friday. And Friday meant:

"Coffee day! Coffee Day!" The chanting brought another grin to her face. Yeah, it was coffee day, aka the day they went to the local cafe for breakfast. 

Rem had started the tradition back when she first moved here. It was the perfect break and treat she could give herself every week as a celebration for surviving the workweek. When Sin moved in with her it was natural to include the little girl into her visits. She had hoped it would give Sin something to look forward to each week. 

The cafe was a few blocks away and was well known to locals as the place to go for original drinks. But it was also known for the sweets and cakes it sold, and that's what made coffee day the best. It was the one day a week Rem allowed them to eat an obscene amount of sugar for breakfast. 

Sin skipped out the door, bouncing on her toes making her curls bounce alongside the fluffy dress she chose to wear that day. Rem double-checked she was wearing her light-up sneakers so she would be ready to run in the park after getting sugar hyped. The cute purple dress with red highlights would be a wreck by the time the little girl finished taking on the jungle gym and mud piles at the park, but Rem had become a pro at getting stains out of clothing back in college and wasn't worried about it. 

Locking the door behind her, Rem held out a hand that was instantly latched onto by a much smaller hand. Together they walked and skipped down the sidewalk, heading for the cafe four blocks away. 

A few steps into the walk and Rem felt an itch on the back of her neck, just below the hairline. Looks like the stalker was back. 

She had noticed it the other night after the case, an itch that acted up when she was being watched. She didn't think much about this watcher though, she couldn't feel any malice or danger coming from them. Instead, it felt more wary and curious if anything. 

The walk was quiet besides Sin occasionally pointing out things that caught her attention. As they came up to the last crosswalk, Rem looked at Sin seriously. 

"Alright, Sinbad. What do we do here?" 

"Ummm..." The little girl hesitated, looking uncertain for a moment. "We look around to see if it's safe, and then wait for the walking light?" 

Ruffling her curls, Rem relaxes and smiled. "Very good, that's right. So, do you see anyone?" 

Sin looked up and down the street, leaning forward as far as she could while holding onto Rem's hand. Seeing no one around she shook her head. "Nope!"

"Does that mean we can go?" Rem asked. 

"Ummm, yes?" A short gasp. "Wait, no!" Pointing at the walk signal, Sin yelled "the walking light isn't on! We can't go until it's on!"

Rem pulled her into a side hug, voice full of pride. "Very good! That was clever of you, double-checking." Sin giggled happily, gasping again as the light changed. 

"Aunty, we can walk now! Come on!" For a tiny thing that barely came up to her hip, Sin did her best to drag Rem across the street as fast as possible. 

Laughing Rem went along with her, the cafe in view. 

Maybe today was worth getting out of bed for.

***

Mutt leaned against the wall of an alley across the street from the little cafe that the human woman was in, the little girl excitedly pointing at all the sweets in the display. 

He had done some more research on the woman yesterday. Rem Neal, 28, graduated with honors from University, leading to becoming an accomplished attorney that had a track record that had even impressed Sans. 

What had caught his attention in his research was that, before the barrier broke, Rem had been a fierce protector of those that truly deserved help. She had put away abusers, violent offenders, always fighting to get the best outcome for her client. She didn't accept half deals, always putting the safety and happiness of her client first. 

And then things changed. 

After the barrier broke, there was an increase in cases of humans being absolute dicks to monsters and supporters, and Rem had done nothing. 

With her track record, Mutt was certain she would have fought for the monsters. Instead, all of her cases were directed towards protecting those violent protesters. She no longer took on cases for helping those humans she once fought for either, all of her attention and effort going to human vs monster. 

It was suspicious as hell. 

As he watched Rem point out and buy enough sweets to make even his brow raise, Mutt considered what to do next. 

The door to the cafe opening caught his attention, but the employee, a young man who looked absolutely frazzled, heading directly for the alley Mutt was in had him preparing a shortcut. 

"Excuse me, sir?" The worker called out to Mutt, making him pause. "I have an order for you."

Blinking in confusion, Mutt stared at the male. "uh. what?" He asked, looking down at the little white bag that was being held out to him. 

"It's, uh, from the lady and girl in the shop. They said 'If you're going to be here, might as well get a snack.'" Obviously just as confused by the message as Mutt, he held the bag out further. "It's already been paid for." 

Mutt slowly took the bag, wary. "...thanks." The worker nodded, quickly darting back to the shop in time to catch a few new customers walking in. 

Mutt looked at the bag, then looked up. 

Rem had settled at a table against the window, laughing as the little girl seemed to dive face-first into her sweets. Not sure what to do, he wasn't prepared for the woman to turn and stare directly at him, a small smirk on her lips. 

Mutt grinned. Oh, this was going to be fun.


	3. Cafe Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Cake and a Chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, thank you for the get well wishes! I'm doing alright, just flip-flopping between writing, stumbling around on crutches, and sleeping. The worst part is probably the leg brace honestly, it's so uncomfy DX. 
> 
> But that all pales in the face of the Kudos and Comments! Every single one means so much to me guys, it just warms my soul to know that there are people enjoying my silly little story. 
> 
> Much love, and Enjoy!
> 
> \-----

**Chapter 3**

Rem couldn't help the wide grin on her face if she wanted to. Sin had picked out her cake for the day (a chocolate mousse with white chocolate shavings) and was enthusiastically diving into it with her spoon. Within seconds there was chocolate on her cheeks and the tip of her nose. 

"Sinbad, slow down!" Rem laughed, reaching out to wipe off the bit of chocolate on her nose. Licking it off her finger, she hummed. "Then again, that's pretty good." 

"Try yours, Aunty!" Sin cheered, "I picked it cause it looked ultra yummy, and you should have it!" 

A warm feeling filled her chest. "Well, thank you for picking it out for me, it looks delicious." It really did. A fluffy cake with a caramelized center and warm drizzled caramel on the top, it looked divine. Taking a small bite, Rem hummed happily and did a little happy wiggle in her seat to make Sin laugh. Swallowing, she grinned wide. "It is ultra yummy, thank you, Sinbad." 

Sin's wide grin was covered in chocolate. 

They enjoyed their sweets together, occasionally commenting on people or things they saw out the window. During a pause while Sin was at the counter, face cleaned up, and contemplating her next snack, Rem looked out across the street. 

The shadow was still there. 

She knew she was taking a risk, sending that cake order to her literal stalker, but she couldn't help it. The energy she was sensing was just so curious and almost like a wary confusion, she wanted to mess with them a little. Also, they had followed her for hours the other night. They deserved a snack. 

The shadow shifted, moving closer to the opening and the light. She hadn't asked for a description from the guy working the front counter, something in her wanted to wait until they revealed themselves. She had no idea why she felt like this, normally she would have been annoyed or nervous about having someone following her like this. But there was something...familiar about their energy. 

Her thought train was interrupted as Sin came bouncing back, a cookie in her hand. "That the last of your breakfast?" She asked, relaxing back into the booth. She was contemplating if she wanted to get something else, but not sure what. 

Sin nodded, taking small bites of the cookie. She mumbled something around her bite. Rem raised an eyebrow at her, making her blush. She swallowed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Sorry, Aunty. We're going to the park, right?" Rem smiled and nodded, enjoying the excited smile and hearing the little kicking legs tapping against the bench. 

Rem continued to daydream, looking out the window at the clear blue sky. It was a gorgeous day, perfect weather to go to the park. She would have to be careful about being in the sun for too long, she didn't think to bring sunblock for either of them. Maybe- 

A plate slid onto the table in front of her. 

Looking up in confusion, she saw it was the same young man from the counter, looking very done with what was happening. "Compliments of the guy at table three." Further confused but also hesitant, Rem looked at table three. 

Whoever it was had their back to her, the hood on their long coat pulled up, the fluffy fur visible even from behind. And they were _tall_ , even slouched into the chair she could see long legs stretched under the table. 

Suspicious, she looked at the cake in front of her. Then she smiled. 

It was the cafe's specialty espresso cake, with chocolate shavings and tiny chocolate chips sprinkled in the icing layers. It was also the same cake she had sent out to the stalker.

Giving the tall figure another long look, Rem smirked. 

"Sinbad, sweetie?" Instantly at attention, Sin looked up from her last bite of cookie. "I'm going to say hi to a friend over there real quick, can you help the nice workers and start cleaning up the table?" 

Mouth full of cookie, Sin nodded vigorously. Ruffling her curls, Rem stood, taking the cake and fork with her. 

With no hesitation, she walked to table three, around the slouched figure, and pulled out the opposite chair. Plopping down casually, she set the cake on the table, fork already burying into it. Taking that first bite, she looked up at her silent companion. 

Years of keeping a calm facade in front of a judge kept her expression from shifting as she locked eye to eye socket with a skeleton. Instantly, she recognized him from the court case a few days ago, when she went against the skeleton attorney. His expression was unreadable and she wasn't sure if that was due to his being boney or not. She glanced once at the two gold incisors, following the dual cracks up to sockets with amber lights in them. 

Swallowing her bite, Rem kept eye contact. "So." Smirking a little, she licked the fork clean of chocolate, not missing how dark amber eyelights followed the movement. "You followed me all night two days ago, and now again today. Do you get breaks?" Her question was met with silence as the skeleton stared blankly at her. 

As the silence dragged on, Rem didn't allow her calm to fade, just continuing to eat the cake. Minutes passed and they never looked away from each other’s eyes. 

"...how'd you know?" His voice was soft, not quite as deep as the other skeletons. A small shiver traveled down her spine that she did her best to not react to. 

"Bit of a sixth sense." She explained, tapping the fork against her lower lip as she leaned back in the chair. "I always know when I'm being followed." 

Tilting his head, the monster continued to stare blankly at her. She simply kept the small smirk on her lips as she continued to enjoy the cake he had bought her. 

"why?" The soft question made her shrug. 

"Why did I sit over here? Why did I send you a snack? Why am I not freaking out? All of the above?" She listed, waiting a moment for him to nod at the last option. "Simple," she said, using the side of her fork to collect some of the icings. "You don't set off my danger sense." 

The bone above one eye moved, rising like an eyebrow as his face changed slightly to disbelief. Licking the icing off the fork, she set it down for a moment. "Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure you're plenty dangerous when you have to be, but you don't feel like you're about to be a danger towards me. Does that make sense?" The silence picked up as she dropped her gaze to the almost empty plate of cake, methodically gathering the final crumbs and icing. 

"you can sense danger?" His tone was curious. She nodded. 

"Yep. Talent I've had most of my life. I know when people are following or watching me, and I know when they're about to start shit. You don't feel like you're about to start shit, you just feel curious and wary. Which is completely fair, considering everything." Licking the last of the chocolate up, she hummed happily, setting her fork quietly on the plate. 

"'considering everything?'" he repeated, voice gaining a cold edge. 

Sighing quietly, Rem let her shield fall enough for her shoulders to slump, brows furrowing in agitation. "Yeah..." Sighing again, she shook it off. "Seeing as you began following me after the case on Wednesday, I can assume you're checking me out as a possible threat, right?" This time both bone brows rose in surprise. "Unfortunately, you'd be right." Sockets narrowed at her. Letting her shield fall a little further, she smiled sadly at the monster, eyes suddenly feeling a little damp. "I am a threat to you and yours." 

The skeleton slowly sat up straight, eyes still narrowed at her. "...why?" He asked again, this time his tone darker. 

Her smile grew a little but still felt sad. "You saw that little girl I have with me?" She asked, voice shaky. "I would do anything for her." Standing, she gathered her plate and fork, looking at shocked eyelights. "Absolutely anything." 

Without waiting for a reply, she walked away. Taking a deep breath, she blew out the heartache and guilt, leaving a blank canvas of emotion. Rolling her shoulders back, she looked and saw that the dishes at her table had been nicely stacked by size, the silverware balanced on top. Still seated and swinging her legs, Sin was staring out the window at a flock of birds flying past. The sunlight glinted off dark curls and mocha skin, making it appear like a small glow was around her. 

Her chest relaxed, a warm feeling of love and contentment filling her. Yeah, she would do anything for Sin. 

Even if it broke her own heart. 


	4. Report and Conclusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Info gathered- time to inform M'Lord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, I'm recovering freaky fast (hallelujah) and have been just cranking out words for this fic! I do plan on continuing Science Meets Life, I'm just taking a break to really get into this one. Besides, since all I can do is write, watch crime shows, and do my physical therapy stuff, I'll probably end up doing more for both fics in the end. 
> 
> Thanks again for the get well wishes, comments, and kudos! They make me smile and giddy every time!
> 
> \-----

**Chapter 4**

  
  


Mutt appeared in the living room once more, this time immediately slumping onto the long couch, head tilted back as he stared at the ceiling. The clacking of dishes in the kitchen confirmed his brother was home. He contemplated calling out to let Sans know he was home, but also knew that his brother would have felt the burst of magic that came from a shortcut. Relaxing further into the couch, legs splayed apart, he continued to stare blankly at the plain ceiling, mind lost in thoughts. 

Today's surveillance had not gone as expected. Starting from Rem's apparent ability to sense him, which was an entire level of fuckery they'd have to investigate, to her warning for them, he had no idea what to do. Everything about her pointed to a genuinely Kind human that did not have any issues with monsters, someone that under different circumstances he felt would have gotten on well with both him and Sans. 

And yet, her warning. 

_ "I am a threat to you and yours." _

Body language alone told him she was miserable while she said it. She hadn't wanted to, but it had been the truth. Mutt wanted to be angry at her for continuing to hurt monsters in her work, he wanted to look at her as a genuine threat and make a plan of attack with Sans. It would be easy, he already knew what she held dearest and knew if they used the little girl as collateral they could make her give up everything. 

But something told him someone already had. 

Sans walked into the room, briskly drying his hands off with a hand towel. "Well? How did it-" Upon getting a good look at his brother, Sans paused, eyelights shrinking. Tossing the towel onto a side table without care, he quickly approached the other skeleton. "What happened?" The concern was clear in his voice, eyelights studying Papyrus for any injuries or signs of distress beyond the lost expression and extinguished eyelights. 

Papyrus blinked, eyelights coming back as he turned his head enough to look at his brother. Sighing heavily, he turned his attention back to the ceiling. "conflicting information, m'lord." His words were slow, mind still racing with what he had learned. "she knew I was there." 

That made Sans pause. The Underground had taught them both the essential lesson of stealth, but Papyrus had taken that skill and absorbed it into his soul. Nobody knew when they were being hunted by Sans' guard dog, that's part of what had made them both so terrifying. But this human woman had known? Impossible. 

"Report." The word was sharp with past use and had the effect of making Mutt instinctively sit up straight. 

"began surveillance at 8:30 a.m., arriving at the home of the target. Sounds indicated the occupants were awake. twenty-three minutes later, both occupants exited their home. followed for four blocks to a small cafe where they entered and ordered. as they finished ordering, an employee of the facility exited and approached my spot in the alley I was stationed. they offered me a white bag, saying the target had bought and sent it for me specifically. came with the message 'If you're going to be here, might as well get a snack.'" 

Sans began pacing, hands locked together behind his back. "So she not only knew you were there but could pinpoint your location. What was in the bag?"

Papyrus made a movement with his hand, calling up his inventory to pull out the bag he had been given. Handing it to Sans, he continued as the shorter pulled the clear cake box out of the bag. "a cake. from what I understand, it's the stores’ specialty espresso chocolate cake. only available there, and not cheap. as I was deciding how to act, I looked up and made eye contact with the target." Sans snapped his attention from examing the cake. 

"She saw you?" 

Wincing, Mutt knew his brother wasn't going to like this part. "not sure if she could see details at that point, but..." Trailing off, he winced again at the narrowing sockets glaring at him. 

"But?" Sans growled. 

Signing his death warrant in his head, Mutt continued. "I decided to make contact." 

Sans threw the cake box at Papyrus, not caring whether he was able to catch it in time or not (he was, barely). "WHAT?! I distinctively said no contact unless given permission! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, IF AT ALL?"

Sans slipping back into Capitals had Mutt cringing, the sound ringing in his sensitive acoustics. His hands twitched, wanting to cover the holes that were his ears. Sans noticed and reigned in his anger. Breathing out loudly, he began pacing again instead. 

"What. Happened." Sans bit out, obviously struggling to not slip back into Capital speech.

Papyrus hung his head, eyelights locked on the floor. "...she was Kind. she was Kind and funny and fearless. and she was miserable." Mutt looked up, locking eyes with a frozen Sans. "she gave us a warning."

Stiffening, Sans gripped his hands tighter. "What was it?"

"I am a threat to you and yours.'" Mutt repeated blankly. "she was in tears as she said it. also," dropping his eyes back to the ground, his own hands curled into fists. "she insinuated that what she is doing is for the little girl. specifically, she stated she would do absolutely anything for her." 

Sans began pacing again, this time slower as he contemplated. "Conclusion?" 

Papyrus slumped back into the couch, fists stuffed into his jacket pockets. _ Stars he wanted a smoke. _ "she's being coerced into working against monsters. possibly blackmailed, with the little girl as collateral. nothing in her words, actions, or soul implied even a hint of hatred towards monsters." 

Huffing, Sans stilled. "Agreed." A short beeping from the kitchen interrupted the moment. Heading for the kitchen, Sans called back "I'll speak to the Queen at her next availability. Until then, surveillance on the human is your top priority. Bug her work and access the cameras, we need to know everything they are doing there." 

Groaning, Papyrus flopped over on the couch, head landing on the pillow at the end, legs still flopped over with his feet on the ground. Sans would disassemble his spine if he put his boots on the couch. Closing his sockets, he settled in for a nap. He was going to be up late tonight accessing the servers and getting access to the cameras so he could loop them to put the bugs in the office. He was taking this chance to rest now. 

In the kitchen, Sans stirred the stew slowly, staring blankly into the pot. Blackmail and coercion? He was familiar with both, having used those and intimidation often in the Underground. It was foolish to believe Humans wouldn't use them as well, that didn't mean he didn't still find it revolting. Using a child? Even in the Kill-or-be-Killed society that they had been born into, children were protected. Sans had dealt with those who thought to harm children with no mercy, and he was prepared to do it again. 

His loyalty to the Queen had been strained for years because of her killing the human children. Despite them being human, Sans couldn't see it within him to hurt them. Hadn't that proven true with Chara? He had been tasked with bringing the final soul when he became Captain of the Royal Guard, but from the moment he saw that child in green and yellow stripes, he knew he couldn't. He knew now, he was not loyal to Queen Toriel, but to monster kind as a whole. If she were to be overthrown, well. It would largely depend on who it was trying to take her place, to decide what he would do. 

He wasn't certain what Queen Toriel would say about this situation. After coming to the surface, she had been. Strange. She still ruled with an iron fist, but sometimes she seemed to war between the act of Mercy learned from Chara and the rage of her LV. So far, this had not caused a serious complication to their growth and acclimation to the surface, but Sans had always been the cautious one of the brothers. So he kept his eye on the happenings in the Embassy, ready to run interference if necessary. 

With this being a purely human situation, she may dismiss it. But Sans didn't think he could. Not when it involved a child. 

After all, Chara had taught him Mercy, and his own morals had never allowed a child to be hurt. Why would this be different? 

Nodding his head, he made his decision. He would bring this situation to the Queen, as is proper, but her response was unnecessary. Whatever she may say, he was going to do something. 


	5. The Daily Grind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mondays suck, dude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm glad you are all enjoying this fic, I am loving writing it! 
> 
> I'm recovering surprisingly quick from my surgery, my physical therapist says I'm about 3 weeks ahead in the expected recovery schedule. I still have to wear a brace to walk, but I can walk short distances with just the brace, not needing the crutches in the house. Which is great, as long as my cat stops laying down directly in my path. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the update! Love ya'll!
> 
> \-----

**Chapter 5**

Saturday and Sunday flew by in a whirlwind of chores, errands, and playtime for Rem and Sin. There was always so much to do to prepare the house for the workweek, what with the long hours’ Rem could work. Thank the gods for daycare and the elderly woman down the street that adored Sin and was always happy to watch her for a few hours on those days Rem's work hours stretched into the evening. She did her best to not come home late into the night like she once did, commonly working through her lunch and breaks to make sure she had everything finished in time to get home to Sin. 

But no matter what happened, there was always one truth at the end of the weekend. 

Sweet lords above and below, Monday's  _ sucked. _

After a weekend of joy and relaxation, going back to a place that made her emotional walls slam up so tight air couldn't even get through was exhausting on its own. Add nausea and general discomfort she now felt around every one of her co-workers and she couldn't help but dream of the day she could take up her own cases. 

Or quit, but, well. That's a bit harder to manage. 

"Oh, Re-em!" The friendly call used to bring a playful grin to her face. Now the smile she gave was as blank as her dulled feelings. 

"Hi, Charles." She responded, voice flat. 

An arm slung over her shoulder. "No need to sound so excited to see me, cousin!" He admonished, perfect white teeth glinting in the light at the wicked grin he sent her. "Heard your trial went well~"

Nausea bubbled in her gut. "Yeah, I guess it did." 

Charles chuckled, "don't be like that, Rem! You're doing good work!" The nausea got stronger. "By the by, your next case is on your desk. It's your favorite kind, threats, assault, all that fun stuff." He leaned in close, breath warm on her ear as he whispered to her. "Make it go away." He squeezed her hard in a side hug, making her wince. 

Finally, they reached her desk, and Charles let her go. "Have fun, cousin. I'll see you at the case meeting." Still smiling wide, he strolled off. 

Rem wished she could express how much she didn't want to touch the folder on her desk, but she could feel eyes on her and knew it wasn't safe.  _ 'Maybe it'll be human vs human. There are three other attorney's they give the monster ones too, surely there couldn't be enough...' _ With only the briefest moment of hesitation, Rem stripped off her trench, revealing the simple dark blue blouse and black pencil skirt she wore. Carefully draping the coat on the back of her chair, she set her large work purse under the desk, settling into her chair. 

With a casual air, she flicked open the folder, scanning over the summary of the case on the first page. Her blood ran cold. 

It was another monster case. 

Exhaling through her nose slowly, she looked through the rest of the folder. It was a harassment suit against a man for threatening a monster with violence verbally and physically, throwing things like rocks or other trash at them. Looked like it had been going for a while but had recently been bumped up because-

Because he threw a rock at their eight-year-old child. 

Rage burned through her. Attacking a child?? And she was meant to  _ defend _ this asshole?!

The rage quickly burned out. Taking a moment to close her eyes and center herself, she looked again at the file. 

_ 'Lock it away,' _ she thought.  _ 'Lock the feelings away. We can't say no, we can't...Do it for Sin. Anything for Sin.'  _

Through all of this, her expression never changed. 

But her soul grew just a little darker in misery. 

\-------

Mutt flicked through the camera feeds absently. He had an earbud slipped into the right acoustic meatus, the cord plugged into the laptop he had balanced on his chest. Sprawled across the couch with his head on the arm, he tapped one foot on the ground absently as he worked. So far nothing too exciting, mostly gossip and technical talk he only understood thanks to helping his brother study. 

The only thing he had taken notes of so far had been a few hours before when Rem entered the building. It had been strange to see the expressive, flirtatious human from Friday become a cold shell, face completely blank. Even when she had smiled at her coworker, it had had no feeling behind it, as plastic as a mannequin. As for that coworker, he had several questions and suspicions already written on the notebook he had on the table. 

Thanks to the sound bugs he had placed just about everywhere and the sound brought in by the camera feed he was able to hear nearly all of the conversation they had had. And this 'cousin', Charles, raised several red flags. He was obviously anti-monster, what with the excitement he had discussing last week’s case. And something about the way he brought up the new one just had Papyrus on edge. But what interested him was Rem’s reaction to the guy. 

Humans had strange thoughts on family, but for the most part, Papyrus had noticed that unless there were serious disagreements, most relatives stuck together. It was glaringly apparent Rem and this 'cousin' were of the first kind. 

A short beep in his ear, interrupting the current conversation he had been listening to, had him hitting a tab to see the list of keywords he had put into the program. There was no way he could listen to every conversation happening at once on his own, so he had input certain words and terms for the program to recognize, to let him be able to focus on conversations that may be more relevant to their needs. 

If he had included Rem’s name into the program, it's not like anyone else would ever know. 

The list pooped up on the screen and highlighted in red was Rem's last name. Quickly he jumped to the camera and soundtrack for it. 

"-becoming more reticent. She used to be so open, now it's like she has a wall between herself and everyone else." The man talking was stout with a receding hairline, pacing in front of a large desk that the man from before, Rem's 'cousin', was sitting behind. 

"Who cares." Charles scoffed as he leafed through a pile of papers. "She's been this way since she was a child. Every time something didn't go her way she would close up. She'll come around, she always does. It just takes time." 

"It's been two years!" The other man threw his hands into the air. "Ever since those abominations came out of the Earth she's become a shell! She doesn't speak to anyone unless required and has stopped spending time with anyone. She just works robotically through every break and leaves the moment she can, all without a single emotion showing." 

Charles sighed, obviously irritated as he leaned back into his chair. "Listen, I know you've always liked Rem. It was obvious from the beginning when you took her under her wing to show her the ropes of the company. She reminds you of your daughter, you love her like one, yadda yadda yadda, it's all very precious. All I care about is that she does her job thoroughly, wins her cases, and ruins as many of those monsters lives as possible while she's at it." 

Papyrus could feel the beginnings of a growl in his chest that he quickly silenced. He slipped the other earbud in, to be sure he didn't miss anything. 

The older human sighed, visibly upset. "I know that, but the other employees are talking. They say she disagrees with us, hates us, and is likely to leave or compromise the cases or company. You know she's the best we have. If we lose her..." 

Charles waved a hand dismissively. "Let them talk, I'm not worried about it. She won't betray us, I've made sure of that. After all," His smile turned dark. "Nothing matters more to her than family." 

The conversation turned to business, discussing the many other cases and assignments they had. Papyrus switched off the sound and pulled out the earbuds, setting the laptop on the table so he could sit up and stretch. He needed a break to think about this. 

Moving to the kitchen, he began digging into the fridge for something to snack on. 

For a short conversation, it had contained a lot of useful information. Particularly the comment about family. Combined with the comment about her niece, Papyrus felt confident in the assumption that Rem was somehow being blackmailed into her work with the girl in the middle. What, exactly, the threat was wasn't clear yet, but he was determined to discover it. 

He realized that he was perhaps spending too much time on trying to help a single human, rather than focusing his attention on the company and its influence as a whole. But something in him was furious at the situation. That meeting with Rem was enough to know that the woman was a completely different person then the cold, racist attorney they had first assumed her to be. That cover was a shell, holding a warm, kind human with a core of Justice so bright it was almost blinding to those monsters sensitive enough to see soul colors. 

A soul that pure was rare if not impossible to find in the underground and Papyrus found himself wanting to preserve it. The fact that it was a gorgeous woman that wasn't afraid of him, was highly talented, and impressively kind had nothing to do with it. At all. 

Well. 

Maybe just a little. 


	6. Hurt/Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stalker returns and needs...a hug?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, quick update again. Depression is kicking my ass today for no reason other than it can, so I decided to work on this instead of wallowing. Did I project in the chapter? Absolutely, but it follows the plot so, eh. 
> 
> I hope everyone is doing wonderfully, and I hope you all enjoy this update! Loves!
> 
> \-----
> 
> (Pssst, I made a Tumblr for this where you can see me post about updates and other undertale stuff 
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/under-trash-lord)

**Chapter 6**

Five o'clock hit and Rem was out the doors. Her face was cold as she walked away from the building quickly, heart hurting and acid reflux burning her inside. The new case was horrible. After reviewing it and having to make notes on how to pursue it, she had to then present it to the head attorney, laying out the plan to combat the persecution and win the case. It was revolting and humiliating and she hated everything about it, including herself. 

As she made her way to the subway station a few blocks away, she felt the itch on the back of her neck. The curious tones had her calming before she could become annoyed. She recognized the feeling. The skeleton was back. 

It was only once she was blocks away and walking down the steps to the subway that she allowed herself to relax a little, tension bleeding out of her shoulders. Halfway down the steps, she suddenly had a companion beside her, matching her pace despite his long legs. His hood was pulled up again, the fluffy fur obscuring most of his face, hands in his pockets as he slouched, black jeans and orange converse shoes completing his look. 

"Hello again," she said, expression finally starting to lose its cold edge as she allowed a small smile to appear. 

"...hi." His reply was quiet, nearly lost in the buzzing conversations of the crowd waiting for the trains to arrive. "you okay?"

The question surprised her, uncertainty making her hesitate. She considered saying yes and leaving it there, but... 

"...No." She finally answered, voice soft. "I'm really not." 

The skeleton nodded as if he had already known that would be her answer. 

"I'm Rem, by the way." She said, glancing at him in the corner of her eye. She could just make out the side of his face, eyelights staring forward in hooded sockets. "Though you probably knew that, huh?" She saw the twitch in his jaw, the faint curl upward. "What's yours?" She asked, those eyelights flicking towards her finally, meeting her gaze. 

"...papyrus." 

Finally, the smile was genuine. "It's very nice to meet you, Papyrus." Looking forward to avoid falling down the last of the stairs, she didn't notice the amber specks continuing to watch her. 

"same..." He mumbled, dodging a human that was staring at their phone while walking. Most of the other humans, the ones paying attention, stayed out of his way, avoiding walking too close. He didn't care, he actually preferred it. Less dodging. 

Rem pulled out her pass, scanning it and pausing to turn for Papyrus to do the same. The empty space where he had been just a moment ago had her furrowing her eyebrows, confused. A soft tap on her shoulder made her flinch and flip around to glare at the amused skeleton behind her. Narrowing her eyes at him she considered the evidence. 

"Teleportation?" She accused softly, staring him down. No verbal confirmation came, but she took the smug grin and arched bone brow(?) as answer enough. Huffing to herself, she brushed past him muttering "showoff." Papyrus snorted, turning smoothly to stay beside her. 

Finding the entrance for her train, Rem located an empty pillar and leaned back against it. Papyrus stood close but at an angle, to try to avoid trapping her. Unfortunately, his height made it impossible to not loom over her anyway, but she didn't seem to mind. Her head was tilted back to look him in the face, grin playful. 

"So," she started. "To what do I owe the stalking today?" Papyrus chuckled, ducking his head down. 

"I'm s'posed to watch out for ya," He said, voice soft as always. "you're a "threat", 'member?" 

Rem's grin faded a little. What he said was true but... Staring up at the tilted corner of his skeletal grin, she detected a hint of mockery. Not at her, necessarily, but at her being considered a threat. "I'm not sure if I should be offended or not." She drawled, squinting at the smirking skeleton. 

He laughed again, slumping against the side of the pillar, his body still turned slightly towards her. She noticed his eyelights quickly scan across the crowd, gaze piercing until he turned it back to her, something in it softening. 

"how's the kid?" She blinked at the unexpected question.

"Oh, Sin? She's fine. Probably ready to tell me a play by play of her day when I get home." She felt her smile turn fond, thinking about the little girl. She focused back on Papyrus and wasn't sure how to read the soft grin and fuzzy eyelights. 

He blinked and the lights returned to normal. "is her name actually sin?" He asked, bemused. 

Rem laughed. "Nope." She said, making no move to continue. The silence stretched for a few seconds before Papyrus awkwardly brought a hand out of his pocket to gesture for her to go on. She grinned wickedly. "If you haven't found it yet, then I'm not telling you. Not my fault you were lax in your background check." 

Rolling his eyelights, Papyrus deflated against the pillar. "it wasn't a background check...." At her doubtful expression and raised eyebrows, he glanced away. "...not a full one. that's supposed to finish today." 

"Mm-hmm," She hummed knowingly, folding her arms over her chest. "There you go." 

Sighing heavily, Papyrus conceded. "fine. why do you call her sin?" 

"Because her name is godawful." She stated bluntly with no hesitation. Papyrus blinked at her before snickering. 

"it can't be that bad." 

Tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling, her sigh was exasperated. "You'll see." She settled on, glancing at him. His eyes flicked up to meet hers just a second too late, his gaze had been on...her neck? 

Eh, maybe there was a smudge of ink or something, wouldn't be the first time. 

A loud rumbling filled the air announcing the approaching train before it could be seen. Stepping away from the pillar, Rem felt someone push against her side as the crowd suddenly surged to the line to wait for the monstrous vehicle. Not expecting the push, she stumbled to the side, and directly into Papyrus who caught her easily. An apology on her lips, she attempted to pull away but was halted by his grip on her arm and shoulder. 

Looking up in confusion, she noticed the slightly panicked look that was glancing around them at the suddenly tight crowd. A single drop of sweat developed and began to trail down the side of his skull, fascinating and concerning her. Wrapping her own hands around his wrists, she gently tugged him closer to her and the pillar. Instantly that inch of space was taken up by someone moving closer and with the lessened space between her and the monster, she could feel the tension in him ramp up, eyelights starting to become jittery. 

"Hey," She said softly, one hand releasing his wrist to reach up and touch the arch of his cheekbone. At her gentle touch, he focused intently down at her, eyelights mere pinpricks that were looking blurry around the edges. "You should go. Don't push yourself." Her words seemed to take a moment to register, amber lights becoming a little steadier as they did. 

Without warning, Rem felt herself be tugged closer into his jacket, one arm wrapping around her back to clutch at her waist, the other hand covering her eyes. Before she could react, the ground beneath her feet disappeared and the sound of the crowds and machinery vanished. It could have been less than a second or a minute that she felt herself hang in place, the only thing keeping her steady the arm wrapped securely around her and her grip on the wrist of the hand covering her eyes. 

As suddenly as it happened, everything stopped. She felt the soft ground beneath her feet again and could hear the gentle chirping of birds and feel a breeze on her warm skin. The hand covering her eyes lowered, the sudden light from the sun hanging low in the sky making her blink rapidly. "What-" She started, eyes quickly adjusting to the light so she could see her surroundings, which were instantly recognizable. 

Raising a brow, she looked up at the skeleton. "My backyard? Really?" At the nonverbal shrug, she felt the worry come back. While less blurry, the eyelights were still tiny and a little unfocused. Her hand that had been touching his cheek had fallen to his jacket at some point, holding onto the fabric. With it, she was able to feel his chest moving a little too fast, and the hand clutching her waist was a little too tight and shaking. 

Letting go of his jacket, Rem returned the hand to his cheek, running her thumb across the slightly rough surface of the cracked bone. The hand holding his wrist relaxed, moving just enough for her fingers to stroke along the bones of the joint. "It's okay, we're safe. No one is out here but us." She kept her voice soft and as soothing as she could. When there was no reaction, she tried again. "Papyrus." His eyelights flared. "Papyrus, we're safe. It's just you and me." As she repeated the words she felt his chest brush against hers with the deeper breaths he was taking. "That's it, just keep breathing. There's no rush, take your time." 

Sockets slowly closed and, to Rem’s surprise, Papyrus' other arm joined the first, wrapping around her waist and pulling her close in a hug. Arms slightly pinned, she couldn't really hug him back, but instead clutched onto the sides of his jacket and leaned her head against his chest. He seemed to curl around her, resting his forehead against the top of her head, breathing growing steadier with each inhale. 

Rem relaxed into the hold, not minding the contact. She had always been a tactile person, so this didn't phase her. For a pile of bones, Papyrus was surprisingly comfortable to be this close to. It felt like there was a thin barrier between her and his bones, creating a softer surface for her to lean into. 

How much time passed, Rem didn't know. She was more focused on the slowly relaxing skeleton holding her so gently. Also, she could just feel and hear a soft sound behind his jacket, like water rushing by, that had also been slowing down until it was a quiet stream. Not sure what that was, she suspected it had to do with his magic, able to connect the relaxing of the hold around her to the softening sound. 

The arms wrapped around her pulled in tighter for a moment, before slowly letting go. Only moving back far enough to tilt her head up, Rem looked into steady amber lights that had returned completely to normal, though the sockets seemed to be a little lower in what she figured was exhaustion. Panic attacks could wipe you out, she knew. 

"You okay?" She asked, her voice that same soothing tone, no judgment within it. Just genuine concern. 

Papyrus nodded. 

"Not feeling up to talking?" She guessed, giving a nod of her own at the answering one. "That's okay, I know panic attacks can wear you out." Hands that were still holding onto his jacket relaxed, not quite letting go, but making it apparent he could pull away if he wanted to. A small shift of her shirt had her realizing that his hands were still on her hips, not keeping her confined, just holding her gently. "Do you wanna come in and rest?" She asked, tilting her head. Papyrus seemed to think this over, before giving a small shake of his head. Rem smiled understandingly. "Okay. Will you be okay getting home?" A small nod. "Good." 

As she moved as if to pull back, the hold on her hips tightened a little, catching her attention. Looking up at Papyrus questioningly, she froze in surprise at the cool feel of teeth gently brushing against her forehead. For a moment there was a buzz and what felt like lips against her skin, but it was gone in a flash, leaving her guessing whether it had been real or not. As Papyrus raised his head and took a small step back, he smiled at her. 

His hands slid from her hips, fingertips trailing against her in the movement. One phalange brushed the skin of her side where her shirt had ridden up a little, causing a shiver to run up her spine. Not sure how to comprehend that, Rem stepped back as well, hands releasing his jacket while his went into his pockets. 

"...thanks." The word was quiet, barely audible, but she heard it all the same. Brushing a loose hair behind her ear, Rem smiled gently. 

"Anytime." She replied, completely honest. Returning her smile, Papyrus nodded, then disappeared. 

Letting out her breath very slowly and controlled, Rem rolled her shoulders and looked up into the gold and red sky. Now alone, she allowed herself to feel the quickening in her heart and faint burning in her cheeks. 

"Well. Shit." 


	7. Recovery and Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Immediately following the panic attack...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! So yeah, it's been, like, a day since I updated, but hey it's a short one so *shrugs* Besides, this could have been part of the last chapter anyway.
> 
> Nearly 50 kudos??? I'm dead. Thank you guys so much! Knowing that people are enjoying this silly little story makes me so happy. The idea that this is being so well received when it originally was meant to be a drabble fic that would never see the light of day, surprises me every day. 
> 
> Thanks again, everyone! Loves!
> 
> \-----

**Chapter 7**

Papyrus appeared in the living room, instantly falling onto the couch to lay down, limbs sprawled. Exhaustion weighed down his bones, even the movements of his chest almost too much to handle. Sockets slid shut as he heard the door to Sans' room open, footsteps muffled by the carpet. 

"You're Back Earlier Then-" The words cut off. A short moment of frozen silence passed until Sans resumed moving, quietly coming up to his brothers’ side. Papyrus felt the light brush of the other’s claws on his skull. "What Happened?" The words were said softly so as to not aggravate his heightened senses, he knew. 

The words took time to emerge, dragging through heavy sap. "....panic...attack...crowd..." He murmured, the words just audible enough for Sans to pick up. 

Sans frowned. He studied the strain and exhaustion he could see on Papyrus's face and in the magic that was flowing sluggishly beneath his claws. It had been a while since he had seen his younger brother this worn down. It must have been a hell of an attack. 

When they first emerged from the mountain, Papyrus had been plagued by anxiety and paranoia, having attacks every time he had to go out among the humans. It had taken the last two years to slowly get him used to be able to be out alone without Sans to watch his back. Sans hoped this wouldn't set him back in his tolerance for being out, that would be most inconvenient as he was the best at recon. Nobody could fade in and out of situations like Papyrus could, even without his short cuts. 

Sans dragged his claws lightly across the curve of his brothers’ skull, stepping back, hands linking behind him. "Very Well," he nodded to himself, sharply turning and striding for the kitchen. "I'll Prepare Something Light For You, Then You Will Go To Bed And Rest Until The Morning." He ordered, pulling out a pot for soup. An incoherent groan was his only answer, not that he expected more. 

As he gathered the ingredients to make a bean and bacon soup, he considered what may have happened today, before banishing the thoughts. There was no way to know until Papyrus made his report, which wasn't going to be happening until morning at minimum. All he could do now is prepare the food, help Papy swallow some down, and then probably carry the taller skeleton into his bedroom lest he spends the night on the couch again. 

_ 'Stupid Mutt.' _ The thought was far more fond then he would ever admit it to be. 

\-------

Rem sighed heavily as she opened the front door, a mixture of physical and mental stress she had become intimately familiar within the last two years weighing her down. Gods, she just wanted to shower, put on comfy clothes, and crash for the next eight hours. 

Soft murmuring and a child’s laughter echoed down the front hall from the living room. The sound soothed away some of the stress, smoothing down the last of the spines of her agitation that had still been in the back of her mind. Worry for Papyrus moved to a back burner in her mind, still there, but she had other things she needed to focus on right then. 

One of those things came tripping through the entrance to the living room, socks sliding on the wood paneling of the hallway in her hurry. Sin quickly caught her balance and continued her rush, straight into Rem's open arms. "Aunty! Guess what, guess what!" Picking the girl up, Rem hugged her close for a moment more, the last of her tension melting away at the sound of happiness in Sin's voice. 

"What is it, Sinbad?" She asked, hooking one arm under the girl's butt to support her on her hip. Sin was just about vibrating in excitement. 

"We made a thing for Mommy!!!" She yelled throwing her hands in the air. 

Pain lanced through Rem's heart, but her smile didn't move. "That's great! What did you make?" Keeping her voice upbeat she walked into the living room where Mrs. Reynolds was sitting, quietly knitting in the lone armchair. At her appearance, the older woman smiled softly at them. 

"Welcome home, Rem." The woman’s voice was as gentle as her smile. Rem had never heard it raised, but it didn't need to in all honesty. Her voice was quiet, but it had a sharp edge that dared someone to ignore her. The seemingly delicate woman looked rather frail but Rem had watched the woman pick up, toss, and catch Sin with as much effort as lifting a bag of yarn. The woman had been a proud officer in the military for her entire life and was retired purely for age-related reasons, not lack of ability. 

"Hey, Mrs. Reynolds. How was the gremlin?" Sin smacked her shoulder, pouting at the nickname. Mrs. Reynolds simply smiled a little wider, standing. 

"She was a delight, as always." She gestured to the coffee table where markers were piled haphazardly alongside scattered sheets of paper. Sin wiggled, impatient to be let down. Crouching so she could run off to the table, Rem brushed her hands down her legs as she resumed standing. Mrs. Reynolds touched Rem's elbow, gently gaining her attention. "I'm sorry dear, I know the topic is hard, but Sin became so excited I-" 

Shaking her head, Rem linked her hand with the other. "No, it's okay. I want her to be excited to do this sort of thing. It was just a rough day." Nodding understandingly, Mrs. Reynolds squeezed her fingers firmly, letting go as Sin reappeared with a sloppily folded paper. 

"Look, Aunty, look!" Sin bounced a little as Rem carefully took the paper, realizing it was meant to be a card. On the front was a stick figure drawing of a tall person with long black hair and a small one with short curly squiggles for hair holding hands. Both had big smiles drawn on, with shakily written words.

"'I miss you, Mommy'" Rem read out loud, proud of herself for her voice not cracking or shaking. "'and I love you. But don't worry,'" Opening the card, Rem felt her voice catch. "I love Aunt Remy, too.'" On the page was another drawing of the two figures from the front, but this time a third figure had been drawn with them, holding hands with the first two. 

Rem nearly fell to her knees, barely keeping control of her movements as she hugged Sin close, tears filling her eyes. Sin wrapped her arms around her shoulders in return, happy to be hugged tight. Pulling back enough to place a loud 'MWAH' on Sins’ forehead, the first few tears fell. Sin immediately began trying to wipe them away with her sleeves. 

"Those are happy tears, right Aunty?" She asked, voice a little worried. 

Rem nodded, a giant grin taking up her face. "Yeah, Sinbad. They are very happy tears." Reassured, Sin returned her big grin, tucking her face into Rem’s neck as she hugged her again. Rem stood, turning to Mrs. Reynolds, who had been packing up her knitting quietly. 

"Thank you," Rem said, only receiving a knowing, motherly smile from the old woman. 

A few minutes later had Rem and Sin calling out a goodbye as Mrs. Reynolds walked down the street, waving and watching until the woman reached her own home three houses down. Once certain the woman was safe (not that Rem doubted her ability to stay safe on her own, she's pretty certain the lady could take on a gang with her knitting needles and win) Rem closed and locked the door. 

"Alright, Sinbad. Whatcha thinking for dinner?" 

The little girl hummed in thought. "Cheesy noodles?" Rem did a quick inventory of the cupboard in her head. 

"Yeah, we should be able to make those." Sin cheered, wiggling to be set down. Helping her down, Rem watched, content, as the little girl ran back into the living room, kneeling at the coffee table and grabbing a marker once more. 

Satisfied that she would be suitably entertained, Rem went about gathering the ingredients she would need. 

As she filled a pot with water and flipped on a burner beneath it, her mind traveled back to Papyrus. She hoped he was okay, he still seemed kind of shaky when he left. Unfortunately, she didn't have his number to be able to check on him. Well, hopefully, she'd see him again soon. 

There was something kind of hilarious about looking forward to seeing her stalker, but Rem didn't mind it. Strange, sure, but not the weirdest thing she had done. 

Maybe this time he could actually meet Sin...

She felt the thought soak up her content feeling and sour it. 

No. He could never meet Sin. If he did, and they... 

No. It could never happen. 

It just wasn't safe. 


	8. Grocery Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a simple trip to the grocery, nothing to see here

**Chapter 8**

Two days passed before Rem felt that itch again. This time it was while she was doing some mid-week grocery shopping (she always forgot to buy enough milk, Sin absorbed it like a plant absorbs sunlight). While contemplating if she should get a couple of ingredients to make stirfry that night, the itch returned, and quiet footsteps joined her in the aisle. 

Turning to the steps, Rem's face lit up in a smile at the tall form approaching. For the first time that long coat with a fluffy hood was unzipped, showing a dark orange turtleneck. The neck of the shirt was stretched out, a clunky black collar hanging around his vertebrae with a bone-shaped tag hanging off it. Having seen other monsters wearing similar items, it didn't phase Rem, though she was still extremely curious about what the accessories meant. 

"Papyrus!" The excitement in her voice surprised her a little, as well as the skeleton, though he looked more amused than anything. He came to a stop a bit away from her, just far enough she didn't have to look up as far to see his face. The fluff from his hood still obscured some of him, but the amber eyelights were burning bright. 

He looked better, to her relief. 

"hey." He greeted, grinning at her. "how ya been?" 

Shrugging a little while shifting the basket she was holding from one arm to the other, she glanced away. "I'm....alright." The answer was so awkward, she could feel the disbelieving stare. "As much as I can be, at least." She clarified, turning back to the wall of rice, grabbing a five-pound one to make stirfry with. Walking past Papyrus, who didn't move except to track her with his eyes, she grinned and bumped against his arm playfully. "What about you? You feeling better?" 

Smoothly turning to walk beside her, Papyrus nodded. "yeah. i'm fine. slept a lot." 

Nodding, Rem made a beeline for the vegetables. "Good, I'm glad. You had me a little worried." 

There was silence for a moment. "...why?" Rem glanced at him. His bonebrows were furrowed as he looked at her, matching the confusion in his voice. 

"Weellll," she drawled out, picking up a few carrots and slipping them into a plastic bag after checking them over. "You seemed pretty upset. I can't help but worry when potential friends get stressed out like that." Papyrus stopped completely, Rem noticing after taking a few steps. Turning back to the skeleton, his face had fallen blank again, eyelights narrowed into pricks. "What?" She asked, moving back towards him. 

Sockets blinked once, still studying her face from an impassive mask. "....you....want to be friends?" His voice trembled a tiny bit. 

Cocking her head, Rem studied him. "Yeah," she confirmed, nodding her head decisively. "I do." 

He seemed to be having a hard time keeping his face impassive, his eyelights growing wider and a little fuzzy on the edges. Hints of dark orange began appearing on his cheekbones and jaw in splotchy streaks. 

Not certain what the changing color meant, Rem reached up and gently trailed her fingers along one of the streaks. That seemed to make them all glow brighter. 

"Papyrus?" She asked, tilting her head. "Why are you glowing?" 

The streaks grew even brighter, more joining them as he jumped back. To her confusion and concern, he hunched down a little more, hands coming out of his pockets to pull his hood down further, hiding his face with one hand and the fluff. "Papyrus?" She asked again, stepping closer only for him to move away. Stopping, she instead backed up a step, brows furrowed as she watched him tremble a little. Glancing around them, she was thankful to see no one but an older man leaning over the meat counter talking to an employee. 

Deciding to give Papyrus a moment, she turned back to the vegetables, grabbing a few more plastic bags. As she wandered around the small selection of veggies picking up the few for dinner, she caught herself collecting a bit more then she would need. Unless she just made a larger amount, to accommodate another person at dinner... 

No! Shaking her head, she forced herself to put the extra onion down. She had already decided, hadn't she? She needed to keep Sin away from Papyrus. She was already walking on a tether line above a fire by even talking to the monster, she couldn't...

A bump against her side drew her attention from where she had been staring blankly at the display of garlic. Glancing up, she met glowing eyelights, all signs of those glowing streaks gone, bony features back to his default blank face. 

Rem slipped a smile on, thoughts still conflicted. "Feeling better?" She asked, careful to keep her voice positive, she turned back to the garlic to grab some. Dropping the small bag in the basket she began walking away, but a tug on her arm stopped her. Turning back to Papyrus, she opened her mouth to ask what was wrong. 

"don't." The single word had her jaw snapping shut, surprised. The monster had dropped his expressionless mask and was staring at her intensely, grip on her arm steady but not uncomfortable. 

"Don't what?" She asked, that fake smile spreading in false amusement while her brain paused its confused spiral. 

Papyrus surprised her again by reaching out with his other hand to grab her basket, removing it from her arm before she could protest. Basket successfully kidnapped, he tugged on her arm a little to reclaim her attention. 

"don't pretend." 

Rem froze, fake smile slipping away in shock, eyes wide. A little of that color had returned to the arches of his cheeks as he looked at her. 

"friends don't have to pretend." 

The faint prickling of her eyes warned her of tears trying to form. The sentiment and words hit her right in the heart, and the smile that came to her was most definitely real. Papyrus was the first to look away, ducking his head a little while she quickly brushed away the prickling feeling from her eyes. 

"Thank You."

The moment passed, and Rem reached out for her basket. She almost had it when Papyrus suddenly dodged out of the way, taking it with him. "Wha- Papyrus!" She giggled, voice a little rough. "What are you doing?" She tried to grab the basket again and missed it as he slid away. 

"helping." Was his only response, a sly grin on his face. Huffing in amusement, Rem crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. 

"Well, fine." She said, briskly turning on her heel and walking away. "You get to carry it for me the rest of this trip." Turned away she didn't see his grin relax, content that his distraction had worked. 

The rest of the trip was quick until Rem looked at how much she had gotten at checkout and became worried. The grocery was only about eleven blocks from her home, but eleven blocks quickly became eleven miles when carrying an excess of bags. Already trying to do mental math to figure out weight distribution as she paid, her attention was cut when a skeletal hand swept up half the bags. 

"Wha- no, Papyrus," She started, reaching for the bags he had grabbed. Once again he dodged out of the way, somehow grabbing the other half while she was distracted. Seeing the other hand full of bags she flipped around to see the pick-up area cleared and the worker holding out her receipt. Groaning dramatically she took the receipt, already formulating her argument. Before she could use it though, Papyrus was gone, already halfway to the doors with all of her groceries in hand. 

"For the love of- Papyrus!" Jogging a little to catch up (damn his long legs!) she tried again to grab some of the bags. Without looking back, Papyrus raised the arm just high enough the bags swung above her head. Growling a little, she smacked his side, barely able to feel the hard surface of his ribs through the thick coat. He just chuckled. 

Hands on her hips, she sighed loudly. "Fine! You can carry them the whole walk!" Turning to the left she began stomping her way home. 

"nah." The reply confused her, almost as much as the arm that wrapped around her waist and directed her into the alleyway to the side of the grocery. Not sure what was happening Rem began to ask but was cut off when the arm around her pulled her in close against him. Mouth snapping shut, she could feel her face heating up. "close your eyes." 

Without conscious thought she obeyed, eyes squeezing shut as the feeling of floating overtook her. Burying her face in his turtleneck, she gripped onto the fabric until she could feel ground beneath her feet once more. Letting go, she began to step back but was abruptly stopped by the arm around her waist that had not moved. Looking up at Papyrus revealed his attention being locked onto her back door (seriously, why did he keep bringing her to the back yard?) 

"Pa-" Papyrus shushed her quietly, eyelights narrowed into dots as he stared at the back of her home. 

"Someone's here." He breathed the words, slowly letting her go to shift closer to the house. Now wary, Rem began creeping to the side of the house where the parking area was. Perhaps, if it was someone she knew, they would have- 

The car pulled into the spot was ostentatious and immediately recognizable. Shoulders slumping, she groaned internally, then stiffened as she realized who was with her. 

"Oh, no no no, oh shit, why is he here??" Fully panicked, she spotted Papyrus now standing beside the kitchen window, just out of sight. Waving frantically to get his attention, she gestured for him to come to her. In a blink, he was gone. In the next, he was right beside her, standing between her and the house with his back to her. 

"You need to go," words rushed she began tugging the bags out of his hands. "Right now, you need to go." Tilting his body towards her, eyelights glanced at her panicked expression and returned to the house, amber glowing brighter. 

"who is it?" He asked, voice deadly. 

"It's-" Already cringing, she kept tugging at the bags that Papyrus was not letting go of. "It's Charles, okay? And if he sees you-" 

"charles?" Papyrus sounded confused but a little less wary. "your cousin?" 

_ 'Just gonna steamroll right past how he knows that.' _ "Yes, my cousin, who is going to flip if he sees you and I can’t risk that." 

The look she got from Papyrus could have flayed her skin off her bones. All at once, he released the bags he was holding, the ones she hadn't grabbed floating to the ground. Stepping away, he shoved his hands in his pockets, staring daggers at the house. 

"we're talking. later." With that, he was gone. 

Rem had to fight the urge to collapse in relief. Instead, she quickly grabbed the rest of the bags and booked it around the house to the front door. Struggling with grabbing her keys from her pocket, she shifted the bags around on her arms. 

Hopefully, this visit would be quick and painless-

The door opening wide for her would have been welcome, if not for the bright, engaging smile of her cousin greeting her. In an instant, she read the sharp curve of that smile and knew. 

This was going to be rough.


	9. A Series of Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We discover the root, and it's not a pretty one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks again for your support, I love hearing from all of you! I can't believe this fic is at 75 kudos, I'm losing my mind. Slightly longer update, I hope you enjoy it. Loves!
> 
> (Important update in the endnotes)
> 
> \---

**Chapter 9**

Papyrus _had_ taken a short cut away- to the other corner of the house. Once sure she was no longer in the backyard however, he was right back at that window. They hadn't put any listening devices in Rem's home, primarily because they did not view her as a threat. He didn't realize that those who _were_ a threat would be coming over. 

In his surveillance of her work so far, Rem spoke to no one unless spoken to, and even then it was stilted and brief. The only exception had been Charles and that older gentleman he had heard arguing about her. The older human- named Richard, he discovered- seemed harmless besides the blatant racism and legal bullshit he pulled. Rem would at least pause when he called her name and listen to what he said, replying softly. It was more then she gave anyone else in that place, including her cousin. 

Charles, on the other hand. That human made Mutt's instincts flare, sensing a threat that he just couldn't quite see yet. Whatever it was, it seemed to be the core of the entire situation with Rem. If he could just find exactly what string was binding the rope trapping Rem, he and Sans could surely-

"Rem! Welcome home!" The cheery voice was loud to Mutt's oversensitive senses.

"Hey, Charles." Rem sounded wary and slightly out of breath, probably from the dash around the house and anxiety. "What are you doing in my house?" 

"Oh, Rem, you remember! You gave me a key once, quite a while ago. It was part of our _agreement_." The happy tone dropped a little at the end, the last word harsh. 

Some shuffling noises of walking and the rustling of bags became clearer. Rem was walking closer. "Yeah, I remember." She sounded bitter. "I just wasn't expecting it, you've never used it before." More rustling as the bags are set down. From the continued noise Mutt figured she was unpacking the bags. "You still didn't answer- what are you doing here? It's not the time for your visit, and usually, we meet at your place for that." 

"Weeelll," The word, drawn-out, sounded knowing. "I've never had to ask this before." All rustling noises stopped. "Rem, my dear cousin, I heard a rumor you were seen with a Monster. Now, I know that simply mustn’t be true, after all, you would never risk our deal, would you?" 

Mutt froze, mind whirling. That was evidence about the blackmail idea Sans and he had figured was going on. And it certainly explained Rem's sudden panic at being seen with him. 

"I don't know where you heard that rumor," Rem's voice was steady and angry. "But it's not true. Only Monsters I've been around are just ones in public, never personal." 

_'Well, she's kind of not lying, if you tilt your head and squint.'_ He thought, applauding her wording. 

"Oh, excellent!" The cheery tone was back, dripping in cyanide. "I'd hate for anything to complicate what we have right now." 

The sound of another vehicle approaching and stopping in front of the house had Mutt immediately shortcutting to the corner, crouched low to the ground as he peered around the corner. A tiny mint green Volkswagen bug was idling as an old woman climbed out, opening the back door for the squirming bundle Mutt recognized as Sin. 

As if on cue, Sin began talking rapidly to the old woman, a backpack hanging from one small hand with a stuffed dog hanging out of the top pouch. The dog was tilting and was about to tumble out of the bag. And as the old woman grabbed the strap and swung the backpack over her shoulder, Mutt could see the plush start falling. 

It was a simple matter of a touch of blue magic to tuck the dog back into the bag. Neither the woman nor Sin noticed, both too distracted to notice the brief flash of blue light. 

Seeing they were headed for the front door, he shortcut back to the window. 

"-don't ever accuse me of not being enough, when you-" Rem's voice was furious and tightly controlled. Mutt cursed as he realized he must have missed something important. It was too late now, as Rem had already stopped speaking, the soft squeak of a hinge announcing the opening of the front door. 

"Aunty! Are you home?" Sin called out. 

There was a pause, Rem sighing and almost reluctantly calling out "I'm in the kitchen, Sinbad." 

"Aunty, you won't believe what-" A sharp gasp. _"DADDY!"_

Papyrus blinked, his mind doing the equivalent of a record screech. _'Oh no, you gotta be-'_

"Daddy! I didn't know you were gonna be here! I missed you, Daddy!" 

"Sabrina! What have I told you about touching my nice suits!" Charles’s voice had taken a quick drop into annoyance and hinted disgust. "Ugh, look at that! You smeared something on it!" Now he just sounded angry. 

Mutt swore to the Angel **if this man laid a hand on that child-**

"Oh, get over yourself, Charles! It's just chalk dust, your dry cleaner can get it off no problem!" Rem sounded pissed. 

"I've told her before-"

"She's a child who's excited to see you! God forbid you hug your daughter!" 

"Don't tell me how to handle my kid." 

"Maybe you should act like she is your kid!" 

A sniffle and a wail cut off the argument. Papyrus felt his soul clench at the misery in those cries, tiny footsteps running over the carpet until a door slammed. 

"Now look at what you-"

"Don't you blame me, Charles. Don't you dare." 

" _Enough_." The sharp tone was feminine and definitely not Rem's. Must be the old woman. "You have both done enough damage, I believe. Now, it is time for dinner. Charles, unless you are going to be pleasant, I believe you should go. Now." 

"I don't take orders from you, you bit-"

"I took you over my knee as a child, and I will do it again! Charles, go!" 

More muttering and stomping footsteps were followed by the front door slamming. Papyrus didn't move. 

"...I'm sorry Mrs. Reynolds, I didn't mean-"

"I know child, but it doesn't change that it happened. Now, I believe there is a little girl who could use a hug right about now. You take care of her, I'll put these away."

"Thank you, I- Thank you." As Rem's footsteps followed after Sin, Papyrus contemplated moving to hear her speak to the girl. Shaking his head, he decided against it. 

He needed to report to M'Lord. 

\-----------------

Rem took a deep breath to calm her frayed nerves. She may be pissed off at Charles, but she refused to bring any of that anger into Sin's bedroom. The little girl dealt with enough, she didn't deserve to believe even a fraction of the negativity Rem was feeling was because of her. 

Taking an extra moment, she studied the sticker-covered door, a soft content smile growing. In the middle of all the stickers were two handprints- One big one in purple and a small, yellow handprint inside the big one. She remembered the day they did that. They had been repainting the walls of Sin's room and Rem had accidentally pushed open the door with a hand still covered in wet paint from the small splash war they had had. Sin had loved it and immediately ran over to add her own. 

_"This way, we'll always be together, Aunty!"_

Taking one last breath, Rem gently knocked on the door. 

"Sin?" She called, leaning her forehead on the door. "Sinbad, can I come in?" 

There was silence for a long minute. Rem waited, not wanting to push the girl, but knowing they had to talk about this soon. 

Another minute passed by, and Rem was finally answered by two soft _tings_. 

_'Two means yes._ ' Opening the door, Rem did a quick sweep of the room, already knowing she wouldn't find the girl in plain view. Three walls were purple with randomly placed yellow hearts, the fourth the reverse. Ever since the Monsters came up and Sin had learned about the Soul shape she had become obsessed with it, wanting it on everything. 

_'The soul is us, Aunty! We gotta show how much we love us!"_

Along the yellow wall was a shelf filled with messy piles of books, drawings, and stuffed animals. The carpet was a plush purple, mostly cleared of toys, and across the room was a twin bed with purple and yellow covers with a metal frame and headboard. It was to this Rem walked to, kneeling next to it. On the floor beside the bed was a lone pencil. Picking it up, she tapped the metal frame, making a familiar _ting_ sound. 

"Permission to join?" She asked, voice low. She waited patiently until two soft _tings_ rang out. Setting the pencil down, Rem stretched out on her side on the floor, pulling up the long duvet that was too big for the bed, until she could see under it. Draping the duvet over herself to close off as much of the world as possible, Rem scooted her way under the bed as much as she could, gaze locked on the tear-streaked face of Sin. 

The girl had pushed herself all the way to the wall, back flat against it, with her favorite dog plush clutched to her chest, a pencil in one hand. Her already wild curls were a tangled mess from static electricity, brown eyes rimmed red already, more tears rapidly gathering. 

"Hey, Sin." Rem stretched out one hand halfway, not touching Sin, but instead offering the comfort if she wanted it. "Are you okay?" 

Sin sniffed loudly and tapped the pencil against the frame once. 

_Ting_

"No, huh? Can't blame you. That was pretty bad in there. Do you want some water?" 

_Ting_

"Okay. Are you ready to come out?"

_Ting_

"Is it okay if I stay with you?"

_Ting Ting_

"Alright," She made a little show of wiggling into her spot to get comfy. Sin cracked a small smile. "I'll just stay right here, okay? And if you need anything, or want to talk, I'm right here. Okay?"

_Ting Ting_

Rem wasn't sure how long they laid there beneath the bed, watching each other. They stayed quiet, the only sounds their breathing, which eventually synched. Rem watched as Sin slowly calmed down, breathing deeper, tears trailing until no more came. As the last tears fell, Sin finally reached out with the hand not holding the pencil, grabbing onto Rem’s fingers. 

Sin sniffed. "...does daddy hate me?" 

_'Damn you to Hell, Charles.'_

"No, Sinbad. Daddy doesn't hate you."

"...did I do something bad?" 

"No, baby. You did nothing bad." Tugging on Sin's hand, Rem coaxed the girl to shuffle over until curls were pushed up against her shoulder. Doing her best to kiss the top of Sin's head with the awkward angle, Rem thought about how to say this. 

"Sinbad, baby," She knew she had Sin's entire attention by the way little hands clutched onto hers. "You know how we talked about how everyone is different? They act different, they talk different, all of that?" Sin nodded, moving a little closer. "Well, your daddy is different too. You know I can't explain why people are different, right?" A small nod. "I can't explain why your daddy is different, because I don't know. But there is one thing I do know." Squeezing Sin's hand she waited until brown eyes were staring up at her. "It is absolutely not your fault." Rem made sure her voice was firm, wanting more than anything to solidify this fact as much as possible. "It is not your fault because you can't control how other people act, only how you act to them. Do you understand?" 

Sin sniffed, rubbing at already red eyes, and nodded. Smiling, Rem leaned over and kissed her forehead. They sat together in silence again, this time cuddled up on the floor. Rem was thanking every God she had gotten the high rise bed frame. 

Sin finally whispered. "Aunty? I'm hungry." 

Kissing her forehead again, Rem squeezed her hand. "Okay, Sinbad. What do you want to eat?" 

"Uummm...grilled cheese?" Sin asked hesitantly. Rem nodded, agreeing at once. 

"That sounds wonderful, sweetheart. Let’s get cleaned up and make some grilled cheese." Decision made, they both carefully scooted their way out from under the bed. Brushing any dust bunnies off her shirt, Rem heard a quiet giggle. SIn was looking at Rem with a playful smile. More specifically, she was looking at Rem's hair. Running her fingers through it, Rem groaned theatrically as she felt the static in the strands, surely making it all stand up everywhere. Sin giggled again. 

"Laugh now, missy," Rem playfully warned. "Yours is puffy too. So guess what?" At the wary look she got, Rem grinned wickedly. "It's bath night." 

"Auuuntyyyyy!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed that! Unfortunately, I've got not great news. It may be a few weeks until the next update. Some really bad stuff has happened and I'm struggling to deal with it. 
> 
> Two months ago, my best friend went missing. One week ago, they found her. It...wasn't pretty. My head simply isn't in the game for writing right now, so I've elected to step back and focus on handling my grief. 
> 
> Fear not, this fic is not ending here! The next two chapters are finished, and more will be coming. I'm not giving up on this, I refuse. I just need time to heal. 
> 
> Thanks again, everyone. 
> 
> Stay Determined.


	10. Disappointment/New Interest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans isn't nervous, what's nervous

**Chapter 10**

If Sans allowed himself to feel anything close to anxiety, he may admit to feeling...nervous.

He was standing at attention, arms folded behind him, outside the Queen’s office in the Embassy, waiting to be called in. He had made sure to be put together perfectly as always, with his uniform pressed, shoes shined, and his favorite red bandana carefully folded and tied around his vertebrae. 

Dogaressa, the Queen’s receptionist/guard, was typing quickly on her computer, her claws clicking loudly in the silent room. Upon reaching the surface the dogs who had had shops and other small businesses underground had joined the Royal Guard, their advanced sense of smell turning out to be a great asset. As soon as Sans had been able to he had gotten ahold of common weapons and drugs the humans used from the local law enforcement and taught the Guard how to recognize them all. The dogs had proved to be extremely good at sniffing out all of the substances and had quickly been recruited to protect the embassy. 

Dogaressa's ear twitched, her typing pausing as she stood and saluted him. "The Queen says you can enter now." 

Nodding, Sans thanked her and turned sharply on his heel towards the simple double doors. Gone was the opulence of the castle underground, instead, the decor in the Embassy was understated and simple. Beyond the doors he opened, that simplicity ended. 

Polished pale wood floors could hardly be seen beneath the large, plush rug that a massive desk stood upon. The walls were painted with the history of Monsters, with large pots of golden flowers placed around the room. Large windows with the Delta Rune, the symbol of the Angel and Monsters, embossed on them in yellow stained glass gave the room a similar glow like that of the Judgement Hall. 

Sans hated it. 

Behind the desk sat the impressive form of Queen Toriel, her white fur clean and brushed, a stark difference from the haggard appearance she had had underground. Her black dress had the Delta Rune embossed in red on the chest, the bright threads matching her eyes perfectly. How much of the glow behind her eyes was LV and how much was natural, Sans did not know. The touch of madness behind the clear color, he was much more familiar with. 

Striding to the center of the room, Sans sharply saluted, left arm perpendicular across his chest just under his collarbones, the other at his side. "Queen Toriel, Thank You For Seeing Me." 

"At ease, Captain." Toriel was quiet, voice husky from years of damage from screaming, either in rage or madness. "I trust this is important?" 

"I Believe So, Ma'am." He began, arms easing to behind his back once more, left hand gripping his right wrist. "It Concerns The Attorney I Went Against." He didn't need to specify more, red eyes sharpening in recognition. "I Believe She Could Be Very Useful To Us, But Is In Trouble." 

Red eyes narrowed. "Explain." Her voice had turned to ice. 

'Now or never.' "In Our Research Of The Human, We Discovered Some Irregularities. The Woman In The Courtroom And The One Outside Of It Was Not The Same. Specifically, The Moment She Was Away From The Other Attorneys From Her Firm, She Became A Completely Different Person. It Is My Belief From This, And Evidence Compiled, That She Is Being Blackmailed Into Working Against Monsters." 

Toriel leaned back in her chair. "What is your evidence?" 

"I've Had Papyrus Doing Recon On Her Since The Trial." The Queen nodded, no more needing to be said. She was quite familiar with Papyrus' abilities and knew if he had found it, it was true. 

"And," She started, her fingers lacing in front of her. "We care about this, why?" 

Sans braced himself. This was the telling moment. "A Child Is Involved, Your Majesty." 

Toriel's face did not change, eyes cold. "My question stands, Captain." 

_'Dammit.'_ "We Have Reason To Believe The Child May Be In Danger, As Well As The Human." He tried to explain, struggling to keep his voice even. 

The Queen did not move, simply stared at him with glowing eyes. 

The silence stretched for a long minute before Sans nodded and again saluted. "Understood, Your Majesty." He did a quick turn on his heel and marched back to the door. 

"And, Captain?"

Freezing in place, he tilted his head back to indicate he was listening. 

"If I discover you continue this crusade for some random human," Her voice deepened, rasping. "I will be quite displeased. Is that understood?"

Sans felt his teeth twitch into a scowl for just a moment. "Yes, Your Majesty."

As he exited the doors, Sans was careful to keep his face calm, not allowing his growing anger to show. Nodding shortly at Dogaressa, he made his way through the halls, paying minimal attention to those he walked past. As he made a beeline for the exit, his thoughts whirled. 

He knew the possibility had been small, but he had still hoped that the influence from Chara would have been enough to encourage sympathy in the Queen for a child. But it seemed he hoped for nothing. 

As he reached the doors, he pushed it open, immediately vanishing into a shortcut of his own. He didn't use the ability often, preferring the physical activity of walking or running, but right now he didn't have the patience for either. Within that split second of vanishing, he reappeared to the side of a park some distance away from the Embassy, in a small gathering of trees. There were just enough trees to create a little area that was covered from the rest of the park, hiding him from the view of the children and parents that were there. 

Perfect. 

He slammed his fist into the trunk of a tree, hearing the sharp crack of bone hitting wood. The sharp stab of pain helped clear his head of the anger that had been building. 

He figured that the queen would deny his request, but the fact that she thought she could order him to stop working it completely? She should know, he wasn't just the Captain of the Royal Guard anymore. He was an attorney. And he refused to stop working the case. 

"Are you okay?" 

Sans suppressed the instinct to attack, barely. The fact that someone had managed to come up behind him at all told him how distracted he had been in his anger, something that could have gotten him killed in another life. Instead, he slowly turned his head to look at the intruder. 

It was a little girl, maybe seven years old in human years, torrential curls barely being held back by a headband. Her skin was just a few shades lighter than her eyes that gazed up at him, little brow scrunched in worry. Her dress had once been lovely, he was sure, but was now streaked with mud and grass stains, the blue and purple color scheme only visible on the top half. 

Clearing his throat, Sans stood straight once more, his fist dropping to relax at his side. The little girl continued to look worried, but otherwise not concerned at all with the situation. 

"I'm Fine," he stated, straightening his uniform. The sudden stab of pain from his hand made him pause for just a moment too long, but he was sure it hadn't been noticed. The little girl's eyes focusing on his hand said otherwise. "Don't You Know You're Not Supposed To Talk To Strangers?" 

"Sure!" She chirped, her body waving from side to side. "But you feel okay, and Aunty says to always follow my feelings, so you're okay!" Sans stared at her, his brow furrowing. She gave him a bright smile. 

That...was worrying. 

"Also," She started again, "You're a Monster, and Monsters are nice. Aunty says that, too." 

"I...See." He said, confused and concerned. 

"Aunty is super smart, so I listen to her a lot. She told me if I'm ever lost, to find a Monster first. If I can't find one, I can ask a human lady, but I shouldn't ask a human guy." She looked confused. "Do you know why I can't ask a human guy?" 

Oh, no. He was not touching that one. "I'm Sure If Your Aunt Is Smart, She Said It For A Reason." Looking around the park, he didn't notice any adults looking frantic. "Is Your Aunt Here? Or Your Parents?" 

"Mommy is kinda gone, and Daddy is busy, so I'm always with Aunty! She's over there." Pointing to a bench some distance away, Sans was prepared for another distracted adult on their phone. He wasn't expecting the Aunt to be looking right at them, returning the excited wave the girl gave. 

_ 'Well, at least she's paying attention.' _ A tiny gasp had his attention snapping back to the girl. She was staring at his hand again, this time covering her mouth in shock. 

"You're hurt!" She cried, grabbing his wrist carefully. He allowed it, mostly because he couldn't figure out a way to avoid it without causing damage to the girl. Looking at his hand he was only mildly concerned with the two broken knuckles and cracked phalanges. "You're bad hurt! You need to see Aunty!" Immediately the girl turned and tried to drag him towards the woman on the bench. He planted his feet, which caused the girl to rebound back and almost fall. Big, brown eyes looked up at him, liquid starting to gather in the corners. 

' _Goddammit_.' 

Already regretting everything about this, he began walking towards the bench. At least the girl caught on quick, gripping his wrist with surprising strength and moving as fast as her short legs could move her. Upon seeing them head her way, the girl’s Aunt stood quickly and began walking to meet them halfway. 

As the distance grew smaller, Sans was able to see the woman in detail. Instantly, he recognized her.  _ 'What's that human saying again? Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear?' _ It was Rem Neal, which meant the girl attempting to drag him along was-

"Sin, who have you kidnapped now?" The woman sounded amused. Sans knew his eyesight was better than humans, but surely by now she could recognize him! Was she really so calm about her opposition appearing with her niece? And was her niece seriously named 'Sin'?? 

"I'm not kidnapin' him, Aunty! He's hurt!" Rem's steps quickened at the words, closing the remaining distance in moments. "Look at his hand!" Sin offered up said hand. Rem paused before touching him, looking him in the eyes first. 

"Is it alright if I look at it?" Sans was a little surprised she was asking and blamed that for why he nodded wordlessly in agreement. The gentle touch surprised him, so used to the rough handlings of monsters, even when healing. 

Rem carefully examined his hand, tilting it to get a better look in the sunlight. Nodding to her self, she let go and began digging into the purse she had hanging at her hip. Sans watched, curious what this human thought she could do for a monster. It's not like she had magic to heal him. 

Rem made a small happy noise in her throat that absolutely did not distract him, he was fully aware when she offered her hand, a single Monster Candy in it. 

"I usually carry a few for when we go to the park, in case Sin gets hurt. Looks like I only have the one this time, I hope it will be enough." Tentatively, Sans reached out and took the Candy. 

It wasn't that big of an offer, it was just a single Candy, but to a Monster that had been born in a world without kindness, where the only person he could rely on and ever accept anything from was his brother, this action floored him. Uncertain how to communicate the depth of what this woman, a human, had done without thought, he could only manage a nod and a slightly strangled "Thank You." 

The bright smile one Rem's face further threw him, it was filled with the simple joy at being Kind. Sans hadn't doubted when his brother said the human's secondary trait was likely Kindness, he just hadn't expected it to be this obvious. No wonder Justice shined so brightly from her soul, it had to compete with this to be the primary trait. 

Speaking of her Justice soul, was the yellow shine...dimmer than at the trial?

"You're supposed to eat it now." The exaggerated whisper from Sin startled him, a blue blush dusting his cheeks. Without comment to her or the amusement he saw in Rem's eyes, he unwrapped the foil on the treat, popping it into his mouth. Sin stared with fascination as his mouth opened and closed. The buzzing static of the fading magic burned his tongue, his injured hand heating up as the cracks healed. 

Rem leaned over enough to see the now partially healed hand, humming in thought. "Well, that healed most of it. Looks like you've still got a few small fractures where the knuckles were broken, but another candy should fix you right up." Sin grabbed his wrist again and studied it intensely. Looking up at him, she looked determined. 

"D'you want me to kick the tree for you?" Her voice was deadly serious. 

He couldn't help it. 

He snorted.

The idea of this tiny child in a muddied dress, threatening a tree on his behalf was just too much. He hadn't realized how much of a wire thread he had been hanging on, what with his stress and anger riding him. But something about this entire situation was enough to crack him. 

"Mwe-MWEH-HEH-HEH-HEH!" Sans couldn't help the loud laugh, all the tension that had been riding him loosening. He tried to pull it in, but the quiet snort and giggle from Rem set him off again. The two laughed while Sin stared between the two, obviously confused at what was so funny. A slight fluctuation beside them alerted him to the arrival of his brother, the magic of a shortcut easily recognizable. 

"i leave for ten minutes to get a snack, and you've managed to break my brother." Papyrus sounded confused, but Sans could detect the relief and happiness in his tone. Sans couldn't blame him, he knew his younger brother had been worried about the effects of the stress on him. 

The comment managed to sober up Rem enough to ask. "Brother?" She looked between Sans and Papyrus, her smile bright, eyes curious. 

Papyrus nodded, shoving his hands in the pockets of that awful jacket. Sans spotted a new stain on the fabric as he calmed. Resolving to get that thing off Papyrus to wash it later, he took a few deeps breaths, a little light-headed from laughing so hard. He's not sure he had ever laughed that hard and genuinely in his life. 

"this is my older brother, sans." Papyrus introduced, relaxed in a way Sans hadn't seen in a long while. It seemed that this human had already won over his brother. That was something to think about later. Right now, Sans felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. Looking down at the worried gaze of Sin, Sans felt himself melting a little inside. 

"Are you okay, Mr. Sans?" She asked, looking at his hand again. This caught Papyrus' attention, who's eyelights turned serious, zeroing in on Sans. He followed where Sin was looking, sockets narrowing as he stalked towards him. 

"hey, kiddo. can i take a look?" Sin gently handed Sans' wrist to Papyrus, obviously confused and curious to who this stranger was, but understanding that he was friendly. Papyrus studied the remaining cracks in the knuckles, turning his hard gaze to blue eyelights. Sans held back the urge to shift uncomfortably under the laser-focused gaze. "what happened?"

Sans couldn't help the little huff of amusement at that question being turned on him for once. Normally it was him asking that. Before he could answer, however, Sin happily piped up "Mr. Sans got in a fight with a tree." Blinking, Papyrus stared at Sans, then snorted. Shaking his head, he began healing the cracks, a green glow overtaking both skeletal hands. 

Sin gasped, leaning forward a little at the pretty light. Rem was quick to catch her niece before she got too close, pulling her back a little. It only took a minute for the green magic to fade, Sans' hand good as new. Sin was quick to duck away from her aunt's hold, grabbing ahold of Sans' wrist to study the hand closely. Upon not seeing any of the wounds, she turned big eyes up at Papyrus. Releasing Sans, she turned fully to the towering skeleton, reaching for his hand. Unsure but willing to go along, Papyrus let her grab his hand, having to lean down a little so she could see the full thing. 

Sin studied his hand just as closely, before looking up at Papyrus once more. Letting go of him, she stepped back and lifted her skirt a little, revealing the scraped knee beneath it. "Can you help me too?" Sans snickered at the floored look on his brother’s face, content to watch Papyrus' expression soften a little before kneeling in front of the girl to take a look at her hurt knee. From where he was he could see a little dried blood on the knee, not nearly enough to be concerned about, but enough to impress him at the calmness of the child. In Sans' experience, children- especially human children- were sensitive to wounds of any kind. 

Rem huffed from beside Sans as Papyrus gently began to heal Sin. "That girl..." she shook her head. "I keep telling her to let me know when she falls, but she refuses. Unless it's freely bleeding, she just toughs it out." Rem sounded proud in contrast to her words. Sans glanced at her, seeing the way she was watching Papyrus closely. Sans found himself approving of the way she was both watching out for the child, but not hovering in the annoying way he had seen some parents do. 

As Papyrus finished, moving his hand to reveal the now healed knee to SIns amazement, Rem spoke up. "Hey, Papyrus." The tall skeleton looked up from where he was still kneeling. "Thanks. I owe you." 

To Sans’s surprise and deepening amusement, his brother blushed. Oh, he is so going to push his buttons about that later.

"'s no problem." Papyrus insists, climbing to his feet. Sin latched onto his hand once more, catching the attention of all three. 

"Aunty," Sin turns wide eyes on her aunt, who quietly cursed, making Sans grin a little. "Can they come over? We have to make them something to say thank you. That's what Mrs. Reynolds always says."

Rem's smile fell and she went a little pale, hesitating in her answer. "Uh, well, Sinbad, they may be busy, we don't want to bother them-"

"No Bother," Sans cut in, curious about this reaction. Rem had so far been nothing but open and warm, so this change was...curious. "We'd Love To, If It's Alright."

Rem hesitated, shoulders deflating in defeat at Sin's continued puppy-eye look. "Alright, Sin. You're right, we do need to thank them." Sin cheered loudly, bringing back Rem's smile just a little. She looked up, glancing between Sans and Papyrus. "So," She started, picking up Sin and hitching her on a hip. "How are we doing this? Walking with us, or teleportation?" 

Sans looked at his brother, who ducked a little at his deadpan expression. Apparently, the Mutt hadn't been completely honest about everything. 

"You Walk," Sans decided. "We'll Meet You There."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for your good wishes and love, it meant a ton to me during this time. Like I promised, I refuse to let this silly fic die. What was meant to be a personal drabble dump grew legs and took off, all I can do is my best to keep up with it. 
> 
> But seriously, every comment and kudos gave me a little strength and burst of joy each time I got an alert. I'm so beyond happy you're all enjoying this. 
> 
> See you again soon! Love ya!
> 
> ~Mel


	11. Confection Deflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to make sweet-- Sans, No

**Chapter 11**

As Rem approached her home, Sin skipping along beside her, she was relieved to see the empty parking space. Upon seeing the two skeletons standing at the door, she was equally nervous. There was so much that could go wrong if Charles found out about this. He would absolutely lose it, and if he did... 

One glance at the ecstatic, frantic waving Sin was greeting the skeletons with, had her sighing. She was so weak. 

"Hi, Mr. Sans! Hi Mr. Pap'rus!" Sin called out loudly, letting go of Rem’s hand the moment they hit the yard to run to the tall skeleton. "Do you wanna draw with me? I love drawing a lot! Can you read to me? I can't read good yet, but I'm learning!" Sin continued to chatter at the bemused skeleton who could only stare at her with his bone brows furrowed. 

Rem chuckled, slipping by the trio to unlock the door. Opening it wide, she motioned for them to enter. "Come on in, guys. I owe you a sweet." As the Monsters and girl entered, Rem couldn't help the quick glance she took of the street. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she let out a slow breath and closed the door behind her, locking it out of habit. Turning, she caught Sans watching her contemplatively. Clearing her throat, Rem shifted on her feet before heading further in, towards the kitchen. 

"So, what do you guys prefer? Cake? Cookies? Any flavors?" 

"Maple!" Was yelled from the living room. With a glance, she spotted Papyrus already seated on the floor with Sin. Papers and crayons were spread on the coffee table. Glancing back at Sans with a cocked brow, she smiled at the exasperated look on his face. 

Walking into her kitchen, she heard Sans following her. Opening the fridge she started searching through the door shelves for the maple syrup. "I take it that's a constant?" She asked. Sans sighed heavily, the kind of sigh only a sibling who's done with his brothers shit can do. Rem snerked. 

"You Have No Idea," Sans responded mournfully. "He Will Literally Drink Syrup If We Have It In The Apartment." Rem paused in her search to stare blankly forward, to Sans, back to the fridge. 

"Well, alright then." The words were drawn out and earned a chuckle from Sans. 

"Yes, That Was My Reaction As Well." Folding his arms, he leaned back against the kitchen counter, giving Rem some space, but still rather...close. She hadn't had anyone over besides Mrs. Reynolds and Charles in two years, having someone even this close to her space was. Strange. 

Doing her best to ignore the weird feeling, she continued her search for the syrup. Making a little noise of happiness at finding it in the bottom shelf she pulled it and the milk out. Milk and syrup in hand she moved to the island, suddenly aware again of the lack of space in the kitchen when she brushed against him to put the items on the counter. 

"How Old Is Sin?"

Rem hummed as she moved to the cupboard, pulling everything out she would need for maple bars. "She's six, turns seven in about two months."

"And How Long Have You Had Her?"

Freezing, Rem felt her heart thud painfully behind her ribs, taking away her breath. The time for her to answer stretched out to almost being awkward, Rem half in the cupboard, hand on the bag of flour.

The shuffling of clothes snapped her out of it. Sans cleared his throat and began to say "Apologies, I-"

"One year, four months." She interrupted, resuming her mission of gathering ingredients and transferring them onto the counter. Grabbing the mixing bowl and measuring cups last, she playfully bumped Sans with her hip, to his obvious surprise. He caught on quickly, stepping away and circling to the other side of the island. Behind him was the small kitchen table with four chairs that Rem and Sin barely used. They preferred to sit at the island anyway. There might even be some dust on it, Rem would have to remember to clean that if the brother's wanted to stay for dinner-

' _Nope, not going there. Remember, Rem, you're making the bars and then politely encouraging them to leave without actually going outside. We're playing with fire as is, having them here in the first place...'_

"What Are You Making?" 

Blinking rapidly, Rem shook off her thoughts. "Maple bars!" Seeing the curious look he was giving the ingredients, she motioned for him to come closer. "Wanna learn?" Sans looked surprised, but quickly nodded and joined her at the counter. 

Sometime later, Papyrus stood from where he had been coloring with Sin, ruffling her curls. "be right back, kiddo. gonna check on my bro and your aunt for a sec." 

Sin grabbed hold of his hand quickly. "When you come back, will you read to me?" 

Papyrus huffed a laugh, squeezing tiny fingers gently. "yeah, i'll read to ya. go pick out a book." He watched Sin stumble her way onto her feet, darting out of the room. _'Cute.'_

Hands in his jacket pockets, he meandered his way to the kitchen, curious about the quiet conversations he could hear. 

"-now knead it like I showed you for a few minutes. You may want to take off your gloves." 

Soft grumbling from Sans was her answer, Papyrus able to hear the thwap of his gloves hitting the counter with a bit of temper. A few moments passed of quiet humming from Rem before Sans made a distinctly _**uncomfortable**_ sound, quickly followed by a soft "oh" and a giggle. Curious, Papyrus poked his head through the doorway, took in the scene, and quickly muffled his own snickers. 

Sans was standing, frozen, skull flushed and eyelights out, his hands hovering above a bowl of some kind of dough. Dough that was now permeating every open gap and crevice of skeletal hands. Rem was similarly trying not to laugh outright, grabbing a dishtowel hanging on a cupboard and running it under warm water. 

"welp, was coming to check on you guys, but didn't expect such a _sticky_ situation." Rem snorted loudly at Papyrus's comment, flushing adorably at the noise. Sans in contrast groaned dramatically, more at his brother in general than at the pun, Papyrus knew. Blue eyelights blinked back in time to take the wet dishcloth from Rem, as he carefully began cleaning the dough off of his hands. Rem slid the bowl across the counter to begin kneading it herself while the shorter skeleton grumbled at the mess. 

Hearing the _pat-pat_ of little feet coming back down the hall, Papyrus turned to greet the girl careening around the corner and running into him with a tiny "oof!" Chuckling, he quickly caught Sin before she could fall. 

"Thanks, Mr. Pap'rus! I picked a book out! Can we read it now?" Sin held the thin book out to him, prompting him to take it. As he glanced at the cover, his teeth clicked shut without answering, emotion momentarily hitting him. 

_ 'Peek-a-boo With Fluffy Bunny' _

"It's my favorite! Aunty reads it to me at bedtime, but I wanna read it with you." Sin shuffled in place, kicking the ground a little bashfully. "If- if that's okay..." 

Clearing his throat, Papyrus held out his hand for Sin to take, guiding her back into the living room. "yeah, kiddo. we can do that." 

***

With the dough rising and the ingredients for the icing gathered together on the counter, Rem propped herself up on her elbows on the island, tucking some stray hairs behind her ear. 

"So, law." She stated, curious. "Why'd you choose it?" 

Arms folding behind his back, Sans naturally fell into a parade rest with feet spread a comfortable distance. "As Captain Of The Royal Guard, I Was Constantly Learning And Being Challenged. The Surface Has...Lessened The Need For Me In Such Position, So I Searched Out A New Challenge. One Worthy Of My Skills And Desire To Help Monster Kind."

"Huh," Rem grinned slowly. "Nice answer. Now, why'd you really do it?" 

Sans blinked. "Pardon?" 

"No one goes into law just to be a better person." Rem laughed, teasing. "So, why'd you really do it?" 

Sans snorted, arms moving to fold across his chest. "Fine. I Was Bored As Hell And Missed Fighting People. Between Law Enforcement And This, I Decided It Would Have The Better Variety For Keeping My Attention."

Rem snickered, doing her best to stifle the urge to laugh loudly. She ended up pressing her mouth against her folded arms, shoulders shaking. Sans smirked, chuckling a little at her reaction. "How About You?" 

Taking a deep breath, Rem resurfaced. "It's a typical story of weird job inheritance." At the confused look he shot her, she elaborated. "My dad and my uncle were attorneys. Growing up around it, it was inevitable that I would pick up bits of it. Eventually, I realized that I had made it my goal to follow in their footsteps without even meaning to." Her smile turned sad but amused. "I used to play pretend with my toys, taking them to court. My dad would play along as the prosecutor, and we would have mock court sessions where I would learn to use all the 'fancy' words I heard him say. When he passed...." Trailing off for a moment, eyes dazed out, Rem quickly returned to the moment with a careless shrug that was just a little too stiff to believe. "I decided that I wanted to do what he did, fight for people. All those years playing defense got into me." 

Sans hummed. "And Your Choice To Work For Your Current Firm?" 

Rem's face shut down, standing straight and turning away to the stove. "Doesn't matter." 

Eyelights growing in surprise at the extreme reaction, Sans contemplated how to go about this. "I'm Simply Curious."

Rem scoffed, banging the pot onto the stove. "Curious? Yeah, right." 

"It's Obvious You Don't Belong There, I just Wanted-" 

"It doesn't matter!" She snapped, flipping back to face him. Tears were welling in the corners of her eyes. "Nothing can change! It's too dangerous!" Chest moving quickly, Sans realized she was beginning to hyperventilate. 

Raising his hands in a calming motion, Sans froze at the flinch his movement caused. Keeping his voice low and even, he tried again. "Rem, Please. We're Worried." 

Folding her arms around herself, clutching at her elbows, Sans was struck with the realization of just how small Rem was. She was usually so confident and filled with balanced energy, it was easy to overlook the thinness of her arms, the slightly too skinny waist. There was some muscle development, but overall Rem just looked...frail. 

"Worried." Rem snorted, expression disbelieving. "The only reason you're worried is because of the threat I represent to your people. You're not actually worried about me, so don't bother lying to me." 

Sans winced, knowing she was at least partially right. He hadn't spent as much time with her, not like Papyrus. He didn't have an emotional connection to her. How could he possibly communicate the concern he felt, with how shallow it truly was? 

"Auntie!" The bright call from Sin quickly broke the heavy air. Sans watched in concern and bewilderment as Rem visibly pulled herself back together, straightening her shoulders, a smile back on her face. It was only knowing the tension that hovered in the corner of her mouth was there at all that hinted toward her upset. 

Sin came flying into the room as quickly as she could, Papyrus's hand in hers, dragging him along. A glance between Rem and his brother and Sans could see that Papyrus was aware something had transpired. Sans gave a subtle shake of his head, telling him to not mention it. 

"What is it, Sin?" Rem asked, crouching for the girl, all attention on her. 

Sin took a deep breath. "Mister Pap'rus doesn't believe me about the special ability you and mommy shared, so I wanted to show him the videos, but the videos are locked, and it's better when you do the thing with the videos anyway, so could you do the special thing?" She asked, all in one rushed breath, finishing with a drawn-out "pleeeeaaaaase?" 

Her smile grew wistful. "Of course, Sinbad. I can do that." Curiosity thoroughly peaked, Sans followed as Sin grabbed hold of Rem’s hand in her free one, immediately pulling backward until both Rem and Papyrus were being led back to the living room. Once her feet hit the entrance to the living room Sin let go of both adults, darting in to grab a game remote from the table. The system was already turned on and open to a list of videos, each with a date beside them in sets of three, all ending in 'A', 'B', or 'C'. True to Sins word, each video had a little closed lock beside it. 

"Okay Sinbad, pick the one you want while I grab the thing." Sin began flipping through the extensive list of videos with a practiced eye. Meanwhile, Sans and Papyrus glanced at each other, Sans almost making a move to follow Rem. Papyrus moved faster. Plan aborted, Sans watched as his younger brother followed Rem down the hall, turning a corner at the end. 

"Mr. Sans!" Turning back to the child, Sans left his brother to it. Sin was smiling brighter than the sun, waving him over-enthusiastically. "Help me move the table!" 

\---

Rem entered her room and took a deep breath, shoulders relaxing minutely. There wasn't any sound behind her, but she knew he was there. "You heard all of that, didn't you." She didn't bother asking, just stated the fact. A quiet hum of agreement was her only reply. Sighing heavy, she rubbed her face with both hands. She was getting a migraine. 

A gentle touch on her shoulders almost made her jump, but her danger sense wasn't tingling. Instead, she simply held still as boney hands began gently rubbing circles into her shoulders. The sound she made was entirely involuntary and had her glad she was still covering her face as she knew she had gone bright red. To Papyrus's credit, besides a brief pause, he kept massaging. 

_Jesus Criminy Christmas_ he was WAY too good at this. Within seconds, Rem felt her shoulders relaxing more then they had in weeks. She was not, however, in any way prepared to feel the roughened bone on the skin of her neck, its target the tension that was trying to grow a migraine. Her breath caught at the first brush of bone on skin, a full-body shiver making her tremble for a moment. Papyrus paused once more, Rem becoming aware of just how close he was standing behind her. 

"...i'm worried, too." The words were quiet, her eyes slipping shut as her hands dropped to her sides. Cool bone seemed to quickly pick up her body heat, warming up as he continued to oh so gently coerce the tension away. "about you and about sin."

"You don't-" She began, cutting off with another embarrassing gasp as he increased the pressure for a moment, the tips of his fingers brushing into her hair at the base of her skull. 

"friends worry." Is all he said. She didn't have a response. When that became apparent, she felt him bonk her head gently in what she recognized as a kiss. His fingers withdrew, trailing teasingly against the over sensitive skin, another shiver accompanying it. She mourned the loss internally but knew they were out of time. 

Sans and Sin were waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for your support everyone!! 
> 
> ~Mel


	12. An Ability or a Talent?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys learn something new (In which we discover one of the authors favorite artists)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, some stuff went down that just made the world go crazy. I'll put it in the end notes. Anyway, A bit of a short chapter and if it seems rushed at the end, it's cause I've been staring at it for a month and finally said screw it and pushed through it in the last hour. 
> 
> Thank you for your wonderful reviews, I love hearing from everyone!

**Chapter 12**

"so, what's this "special ability"?" Papyrus asked while Rem dug through her closet. She swore she had left it in the right corner as always, so where the f-

Oh, there it was. 

"It's not so much an ability as a talent." She said, standing from the crouch she had been in. In her hands was a well-worn case, faded stickers covering most of the surface. Papyrus seemed even more confused, staring at the weirdly shaped case. She couldn't help the little grin at his expression. "You'll see in a moment."

\------

"Mr. Sans, we need to move the table." Sin said, pointing to the coffee table that was still covered in drawings and markers. Sans considered the messy table, then slid his gaze over to the little girl that had taken initiative to try pushing it. Yeah, he could easily move it physically, though the markers may roll-off, but...

"Step Back For A Moment, Sin." She immediately obeyed, pleasing him. She was certainly more well behaved than Papyrus had been at her age. Holding his left hand out towards the table, he felt his right eye light go out, while his left sparked and began to glow in shades of blue and purple. Sin squeaked as the table and everything on it began glowing blue. Raising his hand, the table followed the movement. Sin squealed, clapping her hands. "Where To?" He asked, waiting patiently for her to calm enough to point to the side of the room. Moving it over took nothing but a moment of thought, but the excited hopping and continued clapping from Sin made it worth the small effort. 

Once set against the wall, he allowed his magic to fade, eyelights returning to normal. If his grin turned a little smug, he figured it was allowed. 

"Mr. Sans, that was incred'ble!" Sin half-yelled. She ran over first to the table to marvel over how nothing had fallen off, back to his side. "Nothin' moved at all!"

"Everything ready to go, Sinbad?" Rem asked as she walked in, a strangely shaped case in one hand, Papyrus hovering behind her. 

To the brothers’ amusement, Sin saluted with all the enthusiasm of a six-year-old. "Yes, Auntie! I picked the Heart video!" 

Rem’s smile fell for a moment but was quickly caught. A deep breath later, and Sans could almost believe it never happened. Almost. 

"Okay, kiddo. Take a seat." At the table now, Sans and Papyrus both watched in interest as she clicked open some latches on the side of the case, opening it to retrieve a-

Violin? 

Sans was pretty certain that's what that was, anyway. A quick glance at Papyrus revealed his own puzzlement. Whatever questions may have been asked were cut off by a truly scandalized call of "Mr. Sans! Mr. Pap'rus! You're in the way!" Knowing when to retreat, both brothers made their way to where Sin was already sat in the middle of the long couch. Taking a seat on either side of her, they weren't expecting a tiny hand to latch onto each of theirs. 

From the couch, the angle was slightly off to be able to see what Rem was doing, but the sharp sound of each string being plucked told them she was doing...well, something. Once the plucking ended, she must have picked up the controller because the cursor began flying over the letters, spelling out the password faster than little eyes could catch it. 

Not fast enough for them, though it held little meaning. 

What the heck was a triotres? 

The video began. And so did Rem. 

The notes were bold, growing in strength. On the screen, they watched a copy of the woman in the room playing her violin, eyes closed, and a secretive smile on her face. On the stage were two other people, one a man in the background that they could barely see from the angle of the camera, large speakers blocking him. The other was a beautiful, Latina woman holding onto a microphone in her left hand and the stand in her right. One look at the playful grin and the crazy curls that framed her face and shoulders and the boys knew. 

_ '-the special ability you and _ **_mommy_ ** _ shared.'  _

It was only when Sin's mother began singing that they realized all of the violin sounds were silenced. It was all coming from Rem, at that moment. And she didn't miss a note. 

_ "Don't need a hero to save me. _

_ I'm not a girl to 'set free'" _

Sans was impressed. Both by the talented vocalist, and by the surprisingly incredible talent Rem was showcasing. Peeking at his brother, he wasn't surprised to see his eyes almost completely closed, eyelights barely lit. He knew Papyrus had spent hours upon hours listening to Undyne play the piano, always listening for any moments of hesitation or misplaced pressure behind a note. Papyrus had a far better ear for music than he did. 

On-screen they watched the two women interact, Rem seemingly unable to stay still. He did not doubt that her playing was just as on point as it was right then, despite her dancing across stage playfully. 

The song seemed to come to an end far too soon, the last note reverberating in the air. Sans watched as the video paused halfway through the two women taking a bow, grins giant. 

Glancing at his brother, Sans felt his grin soften at the content look on Papyrus's face. Sockets lidded and grin lazy, like a cat in a sunbeam. Sins raucous clapping brought his attention back. The girl was ecstatic, bouncing in her seat. Turning in his seat, Sans propped an arm on the back of the couch so he could get a clear view of Rem. 

Rem was stretching her arms, violin in one hand. Catching his gaze, she smiled a little sadly, but he could read the undercurrent of joy. This talent, this " _ ability _ ", obviously seemed to cause some pain, but it also brought her just as much happiness. 

He couldn't help but feel a little honored he had been allowed to see it. 

\------

Standing at the door with a tupperware of the promised Maple Bars in hand, the brothers were saying their goodbyes. Time had seemed to slide by quicker after the performance, something in the air relaxing. Rem had seemed more at ease and open with the brothers, willing to chat and laugh. Sin had carried most of the conversation, bouncing rapidly through topics at a speed that made Papyrus's head spin, keeping up primarily thanks to his job. 

"Mr. Pap'rus?" 

Looking down to meet Sin's questioning gaze, he instinctively dropped into a crouch to be closer to her. "what's up, kiddo?"

"Umm..." For the first time all day, Sin seemed to be uncertain and shy. "Can you and Mr. Sans come to coffee?" 

Blinking, confused, he glanced at Rem, askance. "coffee?" 

Rem shifted her weight, hands going behind her back. "Uh, yeah, it's a bit of a tradition. Friday's we go to the little coffee shop down the road and have breakfast before going to the park. Our way of celebrating the end of the week." Biting her lip, Rem shifted again. The relaxed air that had finally settled around her was evaporating, replaced by nerves. 

Sans beat him at it, already offering a way out, saying "We Don't Need To-" 

"Come." All three adults paused, Rem seeming just as stunned at her response. 'You should both, um. Come." Meeting first Sans and then Pap's gaze, holding steady, she smiled shyly. "We usually are there by eight in the morning." 

Without missing a beat, Papyrus dropped his head and groaned. Sans snickered, flicking the top of his brother's skull. "We'll Be There, Lazybones Included." Sans sounded...happy. 

Papyrus grinned, head still dropped in mock agony. It was a good sound. 

"Alright, good." Rem clapped her hands. "Now, you both probably have other stuff you need to do. I know that a certain someone needs a bath tonight." Sin barely got a single whine out before being cut off. "Don't think I didn't notice how clean the icing bowl was." Rem joked. 

"That was Mr. Pap'rus!" Sin exclaimed. 

Scratching the back of his neck, Papyrus glanced up meekly. "uh, yeah. that's probably true." 

Snorting, Sans rolled his eyelights. "Of Course It Was." Grabbing the hood of Papyrus's hoodie, Sans yanked him up, Pap following without complaint. "But You Are Correct, We Do Need To Go." 

Sin launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around first Papyrus's legs, then Sans's hips. "Bye-bye Mr. Sans! Bye-bye Mr. Pap'rus! Be safe!" 

Chuckling Papyrus reached out and patted Sin on the head. "you do the same, hun." 

Gripping Sans's arm firmly to prep for a shortcut, Papyrus looked to Rem once more. "don't forget. friends care." 

The words seemed to relax some of the tension in Rem's shoulders. "Yeah," she said, voice soft. "I'm getting that." 

Grin growing, he nodded once, before neatly stepping back into a shortcut, pulling Sans along. A moment later they were standing in their apartment front room. Enough light lit the room for Papyrus to easily find and fall onto the couch, Sans heading for the kitchen with the container in hand. 

Stretched out on the couch, one foot on the floor, Papyrus let out a deep sigh. He heard Sans shuffling around the kitchen, probably starting dinner. 

"Mutt." 

Instantly, he was at attention and standing in the kitchen doorway, eyelights sharp. Sans had his back to him, pulling down spices from the cupboard. "M'lord?"

"The cousin. Charles." Sans turned to lock eyelights with him, blue lights cold. "Find out everything." 

"Yes, M'lord."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fun stuff, in the last two months I started going back to school (Psych degree, here I come!) and got some news that shook me. The bastard that killed my friend? They caught him. He's going away for a very long time, and I am ecstatic. With the happiness came another depression wave though, unfortunately, which has been hard to overcome. I think I'm doing alright though. 
> 
> Thanks again for everyone's support, this year has been a wild ride for everyone in the world, my god. Stay safe, wear a mask, promote social distancing, and stay healthy! 
> 
> ~Mel


	13. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not, quite the update you were hoping for

So I have been informed I messed up. I was not aware of the no commerce rule, so thank you to those who let me know!!! 

I didn't mean to make anyone uncomfortable or upset, I genuinely had no idea this was a thing. I'm happy with every one of you, and I don't require anything but your continued support and reviews! 

And I just made the discord poll available at http://www.strawpoll.me/35212752 

Again, thank you to those who warned me, I appreciate it immensely. I'm sorry. 

Loves!

~Mel


	14. Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Thursday. Court day. 
> 
> ...oh dear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, decided to post this chapter early as an apology for the confusion yesterday. Consider it a thank you to those that saved this fic from being taken down. 
> 
> And the poll for a Discord got enough attention that it happened! I made a Discord for everyone who enjoys both this fic, and fandom in general. It's meant to be a welcome, positive environment for passionate people of all kinds. So come join me, it's awful lonely right now.
> 
> https://discord.gg/XB2jsQfWmN
> 
> (Updated the Discord link since it stopped working for some reason?)

**Chapter 13**

It was Thursday. Court day. And Rem could feel the tears welling behind her eyes. 

Today had been the case of the human throwing rocks at a monster and their child, and as usual, Rem won. If you could call it that. 

The human was walking away with a fine and mandatory anger management therapy she knew he wasn't going to go to. And across the room, consoling a shaking bird monster, was Sans. 

He had been brilliant in his prosecution. But she knew the judge, and she knew exactly how he felt about monsters. After all- he was friends with Charles. 

Speak of the devil, and-

"Ah, Rem, a great job as always!" Charles beamed, clapping her shoulder with a hand. He ignored the flinch the movement caused. "Though I think you could have tried a little harder to get that fine lowered." He said, voice light and joking, but the hand on her shoulder tightened painfully. 

Forcing her voice to be even, Rem replied "You're probably right, I missed the mark on that." The hand tightened even more. 

"Let's not have that again, shall we?" The words were a low whisper and sent a shudder down her spine. Another tight squeeze (she was going to bruise from this, she knew it) and he finally released her, stepping away. "Couple of us are going to go to dinner, wanna come to celebrate your win?" Voice chipper and showing zero malice, Charles looked like the perfect gentleman asking her along.

"No thanks," Rem was careful to keep her voice neutral. "I promised Sin I'd be home early." 

Charles shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll see you at work on Monday." With that, he walked away. 

A spike of irritation lit inside her. Not even a question or comment on how _**his child**_ is? 

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she began picking up the papers she had spread on the table for court. Carefully stacking each, she taped their edge on the table. A sharp sting made her wince, already knowing from experience she had just managed to give herself a papercut. Again. 

Putting the papers in her briefcase, she checked her hand. The cut was thin, slicing right across the ball of her hand, beneath her index finger. _'Well, that's going to be annoying for the next few days.'_ Closing her case with a quiet click, she began to exit the almost emptied courtroom. Sans had already left with his client. 

_ 'Oh god, tomorrow was Coffee day. And he was going to be there. What was she even supposed to say? Would he even come?' _

If he and Papyrus didn't show up tomorrow, Sin would be heartbroken. 

Shaking her head to banish the thoughts, she instead focused on getting home as soon as possible. Exiting the courthouse, she kept her gait steady, following the familiar path to the nearest subway entrance. A block into her journey, she felt it. That tingle on the back of her neck. Except for this time, it felt more like a burn. 

In an instant she knew, that wasn't Papyrus. The faint feeling of irritation and violence didn't feel anything like him. Swallowing heavily, she quickened her pace, turning the corner, the subway entrance in sight. 

The feeling didn't stop. 

Almost jogging down the steps, she felt her heart stutter when she looked around and saw a familiar tall figure, fluffy hood pulled up. _'Oh no no no nononono!_ ' Stomach burning, she took a risk and whispered "Being followed, stay away." 

Papyrus stayed where he was long enough for her to worry he couldn't hear her over the chatter in the tunnel. Just when she was starting to panic, about to walk past him, he turned away and began walking to a different platform. Relief flooded her. Finally reaching her platform, she did her best to hide amongst the crowd. _'Just get home, it'll be okay, just get home.'_

The buzz of her phone in her pocket almost made her jump out of her skin. 

Confused, she fished the phone out of her jacket pocket. There was a text from an unknown number. 

_ Be careful _

'Who the hell?' Uncertain, she almost texted back, when her screen flashed for barely a second, and the text was gone. Narrowing her eyes, she had a feeling she knew who it was. 

'That sneaky bastard, of course he got my phone number.' Sliding her phone back in her pocket, she couldn't help but smile. 

Loud rumbling announced the arrival of the train. Stepping forward, the crowd surged around her, hiding her further from sight. As she boarded the train and tried to find an open seat, the burning in her neck became sharper. Wincing, she stumbled as someone bumped into her roughly. "What the- hey! Watch it!" She snapped at the hooded figure. The person was in a dark blue hoodie, the hood pulled forward so far she could barely make out the tips of blond hair sticking out of the top. Their face was completely shadowed, the hoodie and pants baggy enough she couldn't possibly guess their body type. 

When they walked off without a word, she shook her head. How rude. 

Not finding a seat, she grabbed one of the handgrips and held steady, ready for the train to start moving. The annoyance of the encounter faded, revealing another feeling. The lack of one. 

The burning was gone.

\---

Watching the hooded figure closely, he watched as they left the train. He followed them, straight to an old building that may have once been a house. He watched them exchange an item with a familiar face. 

He watched. 

And the Mutt hunted.

\---

Approaching her home, Rem couldn't help the sigh of relief. The burning had stopped completely, leaving her uncertain about who it could have been, but still content that they had fucked off. 

Putting her keys into the door, she unlocked it, pocketing her keys again without opening the door. Instead, she knocked _one-two-three_ **pause** _one-two_ **pause** _one._

The door flung open, and SIn flew out, jumping up to wrap her arms around Rem. Catching her, Rem couldn't have held back the delighted laugh that escaped her if she tried. 

"Aunty, you're home!!" The typical greeting was a welcome sound, the tension she had been carrying all the way home relaxing. 

"I promised I'd come home early, didn't I?" Rem teased, hugging Sin close. When Sin made it apparent she wasn't about to let go, Rem hefted her up onto her hip, continuing to hold her close as she entered the home. "Is Mrs. Reynolds still here?" 

"In here, dear!" The call came from the kitchen. Following the voice, Rem was surprised to see a simple spread of sandwiches and snacks on the table. Mrs. Reynolds was setting down a bowl filled with salad, completing the image. 

"Oh my god, you didn't have to do this. Thank you so much!" Rem gave the old woman a brief kiss on the cheek as she passed her, leaning down to settle Sin into a chair. Feeling a small twinge in her lower back, she huffed. _'I'm getting old.'_ She joked to herself. 

SIn sat, hands in lap, waiting for the okay. Rem couldn't help the little flare of pride. She was so lucky Sin was so well behaved, she saw how some other kids acted. Thank the gods. 

Setting down her briefcase under the table, she fell into her seat. Rolling her neck, she stretched as much as she could. Mrs. Reynolds hummed. 

"You're too tense dear, you're going to injure yourself!" The woman scolded gently. "You should take a nice warm bath tonight, get those muscles to relax." 

Groaning, Rem heartily agreed. A hot bath sounded wonderful right now. But first, dinner. 

"Okay, Sin. What're you feeling like?" She asked, grabbing the girl’s plate. 

"Umm..." Sin sat up a little more so she could see everything. "Ham and cheese san'wich, please!" 

Putting the requested sandwich on the plate, she also scooped on a large pile of broccoli and a few carrots. Setting the plate down in front of Sin, she chuckled at the wrinkled nose. "You know the deal." Rem reminded, beginning to fill her plate with a variety of vegetables and a sandwich. 

Letting out a giant, frustrated sigh, Sin obediently picked up a carrot and started eating. Her nose was wrinkled the entire time. 

Mrs. Reynolds laughed. "Well, I'll be off, my dears." 

Rem froze, a forkful of salad halfway to her mouth. "Oh, you don't have to leave. You can stay and eat with us!" 

Shaking her head, Mrs. Reynolds tucked a strand of grey, kinked hair behind her ear. "No, that's okay. I need to check on the kitties, it's their dinner time too. Besides," A mischievous twinkle warmed pale eyes. "I may have done some of my own snacking while getting everything ready." 

Laughing, Rem set down her fork. "Fair enough," She agreed, standing. "I'll walk you out." 

"You know you don't have to do that. I'm old, dear, not decrepit." Mrs. Reynolds reminded, a mysterious smile wrinkling the corners of her mouth. 

"Yeah, I know." Rem agreed, heading for the door. "But it makes me feel better." 

"Oh, very well." Briskly following, she scooped up her bag of yarn and left through the door Rem held open for her. "You take care of yourself, dear." 

"I will. You do the same." Rem watched as the woman made her way to her house down the street, relaxing when she made it to her door and inside with no issues. Closing and locking the door, Rem returned to the kitchen. To her delight, Sin had managed to plow through the carrots, half the broccoli, and was now working her way through the sandwich. 

"Very nice, Sinbad. Thank you for eating so well." She praised, ruffling wild curls. Sin gave a big smile, cheeks filled with food making her resemble a chipmunk. 

Before she could take a seat again, there was a knock on the back door. 

Stiffening, Rem warily stared at the door. Sin had frozen as well, staring wide-eyed. They weren't expecting anyone, and definitely not anyone at the back door. Why would someone be in the backyard? 

All at once, her shoulders slumped as she rolled her eyes. Only one person had been consistently in the backyard recently. 

Not sure what he could want, Rem went for the door. A quiet "Aunty?" had her turning back to Sin, hand flicking open the lock. She smiled reassuringly at the confused and nervous girl. "It's okay, Sinbad." Hand on the knob. "It's a good person." 

Opening the door, Rem huffed a laugh at the tall figure looming in the doorway. "Come in, you weirdo." She invited, standing aside. Long legs had him inside in a single step, waiting until she had closed and locked the door before pushing his hood off. 

"Mr. Pap'rus!" Sin cried, jumping from the chair and leaping for the bewildered skeleton, little arms wrapping around his hips. 

Laughing, Rem crossed her arms and watched the bemused skeleton steady Sin with a hand on her back, helping her hold on as her toes barely touched the ground to keep her up. "

"Alright, skeleman. Why are you here?" Rem asked, amused and curious. 

Papyrus locked gazes with her, eyelights scanning her face and then doing a quick scan over her body. "...checking on you." He said, looking back down at Sin, leaving Rem wide-eyed. 

Sin finally let go, bouncing on her toes. "Mr. Pap'rus, are you here for dinner? You should eat with us!" 

Visibly thrown, Papyrus hesitated, looking back at Rem. "i...guess? if your aunt is okay with it?" 

One look at Sin's excited face broke any possible denial. "Yeah, it's alright. Come sit with us, there's plenty."

As they all took their seats again, Rem finally took that bite of her salad. Checking that Sin was again eating (this time shoving broccoli in her mouth like a champ) she checked on Papyrus. 

And promptly had to stifle a snort. 

Papyrus was looking at the spread of healthy food like it had insulted him. Catching her staring, she raised an eyebrow at him. He cracked a grin, before slowly reaching for a sandwich, eating nearly half of it in one bite. 

A thought occurred to her. 

"Wait," she started, causing him to pause, mouth open for his next bite. "This isn't Monster food. Are you going to be okay?" 

Papyrus huffed a laugh, shoving the second half of the sandwich in his mouth. Closing his teeth, a few seconds passed before he opened his mouth, revealing the sandwich was gone. 

"it's fine." he assured her, reaching for the plate of carrot sticks now. "won't give as much energy as monster food, but I can assimilate it alright. just takes a bit of effort." 

Reassured, she continued to eat. It was quiet for a few minutes, each of them focused on their food. Of course, Sin was practically vibrating in her chair, ready to start bombarding the skeleton with questions. However, she knew the rules, no talking while chewing, and right now hunger won out. 

But the moment she swallowed the last bite of her sandwich, she was off. "Mr. Pap'rus, why did you come over? Did you have a good day? I really missed you! Where is Mr. Sans? Why didn't he come too?" 

Rem snerked, covering her mouth to laugh. Papyrus was staring at Sin with wide sockets, the eyelights blown wider than she could remember them being. 

"uh." At a loss, he tried to turn to Rem. Rem simply shook her head and took another bite, fully content to let him figure this out on his own. "i came over to see how you both were doing?" He asked more than stated. 

Sin didn't notice. "Oh! You're so nice, Mr. Pap'rus! I'm okay, I mostly just drew with Ms. Re'nolds. Aunty had court today, so she might be sad. She's always sad on court day." Rem choked on her food. 

Coughing, she avoided the sharp eyelights by standing and fetching a glass from the cupboard, filling it with water. Taking a few sips to clear her throat, she focused on staring out the window into the backyard. 

"Aunty?" Turning enough to see Sin, she hummed in answer, taking another sip. "I'm done, can I play now?" A quick check showed a surprisingly empty plate. 

"Yeah, Sin." Voice rough from coughing, Rem tried to clear her throat. "Go ahead and pick a movie for tonight, too." 

Focus back on the window, she registered Sin asking Papyrus to go with her, and a quiet reply she couldn't hear. Drinking the last of the water, she set the glass on the counter, sighing quietly at the sound of little footsteps tapping across the wood floors. 

_'Gotta clear the table.'_ She thought, turning around to grab the tupperware containers from a different cupboard. At least, she tried to. She got to the turning around part, then jumped at the sight of a certain tall skeleton standing directly behind her. "Christ you move quietly!" She exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down so Sin wouldn't hear. 

Amber lights stared at her intensely. Any possible words dried up her throat, making it impossible to attempt a distraction. A single, short step had him crowding her back into the counter, hands landing on the edge to either side of her. 

"Wh-what are-" She stuttered, cutting off as he leaned down, closing the space between them. Closing her eyes, not sure what to expect, her breath caught at the gentle touch of his forehead on her own. 

"...i'm sorry."

The words were simple, perplexing, and hit her like a hurricane. Throat tightening, she couldn't make a sound as tears she hadn't even noticed fell. 

She doesn't know how long they stood there, foreheads touching, amber eyelights watching her intently as she cried silently. No words, no other contact. But in the silence, she heard him. 

She was sorry too. He knew that. And he forgave her. 

  
  
  


...If only she could forgive herself.


End file.
